Konoha High: The Homecoming
by winxgirl21
Summary: The gang from Konoha High is back, and guess what? Homecoming is fast approaching! Join the Naruto characters as they struggle yet again with classes, grades, friends, enemies, and romance. Note: This is the sequel to Konoha High. I suggest reading that b
1. Chapter 1

A/N: ok, so here's the sequel to my story Konoha High! Before you read this, I would suggest reading Konoha High, so that you understand some of what's going on in the story. I want to thank everyone who reviewed my story Konoha High, because without you guys I wouldn't be writing a sequel! -

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sakura sat on her bed with her knees pulled up to her chest, her chin resting on top of them. She looked around at her friends, who were discussing the upcoming homecoming. It was only two weeks away, and the girls couldn't wait.

"Well, Hinata already has her date, but what about the rest of us?" Ino asked, looking at Sakura and TenTen.

"Well, I don't know, I've gotten some notes shoved in my locker from different boys asking me to go with them, but I really don't want to go with someone who can't even ask me to my face." Sakura said as she reached her hand up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Aka, you wanna go with Sasuke." Ino said.

"Well…" Sakura started. "I'm not sure, I mean, I have no clue what he thinks of me anymore. After reading his 'thoughts' I don't know if he likes me at all or not."

"You mean ever since you read his diary, and found the unfinished thought about you, you can't help but think he thinks the worst about you?" Ino asked.

"Sasuke does not have a diary!" Sakura screeched at Ino.

"Ino, stop trying to make Sakura mad. Sakura, cool it, ok?" TenTen directed her two friends.

"Sakura, maybe you should just ask him about it. I mean, this has been bugging you for weeks!" Hinata said.

"I don't know, I just don't want him to get mad at me. I mean, am I just supposed to go up to him and say, 'Sasuke, I read your innermost thoughts about me that you had typed up on your computer, but it wasn't complete when I read it. Would you mind telling me what you were going to say?' I just don't think that would go over too well." Sakura said with a sigh.

"Yea, I think you're right." TenTen said.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you, Sakura. All I know is let's agree that we'll stick together at the dance, friend's or no friends?" Ino asked.

"Agreed." Sakura, TenTen and Hinata said at the same time.

"I'm sure Naruto won't mind us hanging out with you guys." Hinata said.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't worry about that yet, Hinata. That Kiba kid has seemed like he's trying his best to get you to change your mind about your date." Sakura pointed out. It was true. Within the past two weeks, Kiba had sent Hinata flowers, left her notes in her locker, tried to join them at lunch, and a number of other things. All of it was to try and get Hinata to change her mind.

"I don't get it, I've tried telling him that I just want to go with Naruto, but he won't listen to me." Hinata said, tracing patterns with her fingers in the carpet.

"Maybe you should try to show him?" Ino suggested.

"And how do you suggest she does that?" TenTen asked her friend.

"Well, hanging out with Naruto when you know that Kiba will be around, and maybe flirting with him in front of Kiba?" Ino suggested.

Hinata blushed as she said, "I don't know, that would really hard for me."

"Yea, we know, Hinata." Ino said. "But you already know that Naruto likes you. I mean, the guy is totally crazy about you! So why not try and show some affection back? I mean, he's never going to be your boyfriend if you don't show him you like him, too!"

"Ino's kind of right, Hinata." Sakura said. "Even though I hate to admit it. Maybe you should try flirting with him just a little bit more?"

"I guess I'll try." Hinata said in defeat.

Ino now turned her attentions top TenTen. "Ok, so what's the deal with you and Neji?"

"Nothing, we're just friends!" TenTen exclaimed. Ino had every right to want to know, however. TenTen and Neji had been hanging out together a lot lately. They would go and shoot hoops together after school, and hang out at each others houses. Basically at Neji's house so TenTen's mother wouldn't bug them.

"Well, what do you guys do at Neji's house, anyways?" Ino pressed further.

"We play video games a lot." TenTen replied. "And when we do go to my house we go for hikes in the woods. He, unlike some people, likes to go into the woods." TenTen shot looks at Sakura and Ino during the last sentence.

"Hey, don't look at me!" Hinata said holding her hands up in a surrendering position. "I go in the woods with you!"

"Oh, I know, Hinata. I guess that was aimed more for Ino and Sakura." TenTen said.

"Come on, TenTen, there's wild animals out there!" Ino exclaimed.

"You mean squirrels and deer? Yea, they're a real threat to you, Ino." TenTen said sarcastically.

"It's kind of dirty, and well, I get all sweaty when I go in the woods." Sakura said, crinkling up her nose.

TenTen just sighed in response to this. "It's ok, I love you guys anyways. It's just, Neji understand why I go there and stuff."

"So have you taken him to your spot?" Hinata asked.

"You mean the old fort? No, not yet." TenTen replied. The only ones who had ever been there were Hinata, Ino and Sakura. Basically Hinata.

"Good, 'cause that would mean things are getting serious between you two." Ino said.

"I told you, Ino, we're just friends!" TenTen exclaimed as she launched a pillow at Ino's head. Ino let out a shriek as she dodged the pillow. She crawled over to where it landed and threw it back at TenTen. TenTen ducked, and it hit Hinata in the head. Hinata picked it up to throw it back at Ino, who had crossed the room and was about to duck under Sakura's covers. The pillow missed and hit Sakura.

Sakura's eyes gleamed as she picked up another pillow off of her bed and exclaimed, "Pillow Fight!"

A/N: Ok, well, I hope you guys like this chapter, and again, if you haven't read Konoha High, you might want to so that you understand what's going on in this story. Sorry for this being such a short chapter! Reviews are much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sakura's eyes gleamed as she picked up another pillow off of her bed and exclaimed, "Pillow Fight!"

**The Next Morning**

Everything was a mess. There were feathers all over the room, a result from one of the pillows busting open and its contents spreading throughout the room. There were sleeping bags propped up over chairs, tables, and a number of other things forming makeshift forts and shelters from the battlefield, also known as Sakura's room. Sakura glanced at the clock, noticing it was almost 11 o'clock. She groaned. The girls hadn't gone to bed until four, and it was too soon to get up. She looked around the room at her friends who were still out of it. She then rolled over on her side to try and fall back asleep. Unfortunately, sleep would not come to her. She got up and stretched.

'_Might as well go make some breakfast.'_ She thought as she tiptoed out of her room, shutting the door behind her. Sakura walked down to the kitchen to find a note saying that her mother had taken Taichi shopping for some new clothes, and that she would be back around one o' clock. Sakura grabbed a box of pancake mix, and started mixing it together in a bowl. _'I wonder if we have any chocolate chips. Might as well go look for them.' _Sakura thought as she opened cabinet after cabinet, only to find that the chocolate chips were in the last cabinet she looked in. _'It figures. And if I'd looked there first, they'd have been all the way at the other end.' _She mixed them in and started pouring batter in the skillet. After a few minutes she heard footsteps and turned around to find Ino enter the kitchen.

"What woke you up so early this morning, pig?" Sakura asked.

"The smell of something good in the kitchen, forehead." Ino replied.

"Are TenTen and Hinata still asleep then?" Sakura asked as she flipped a pancake over.

"Yup, they're pretty much unconscious, I tickled TenTen with one of the feathers, and she didn't even move." Ino replied as she sat down at the kitchen counter and watched her friend make the pancakes.

"Pig?" Sakura asked.

"Yea?" Ino replied.

"Come and make yourself useful. Put some butter on these for me, will ya?" Sakura asked, sliding a plate of pancakes towards Ino as well as a tub of butter.

"Sure." Ino said as she grabbed the plate and slid it in front of her, and put some butter on the knife.

When Ino and Sakura were done, they finally heard the footsteps of their friends entering the room.

"What smells so good?" TenTen asked as she sniffed the air.

"Pancakes." Sakura replied as she put about three of the chocolate chip covered pancakes on her plate. She grabbed the powdered sugar shaker and sprinkled some on top of her plate.

"It smells delicious." Hinata said as she helped herself to some of the pancakes.

"Wait until you taste them." said Ino, who had already eaten half of her first pancake.

Hinata took a bite and her face lit up. "They're even better than they smell!" She exclaimed as she grabbed the powdered sugar shaker from the counter and poured a ton on.

"Enough sugar, Hinata?" TenTen asked her friend.

"The more the better." Hinata said with a small grin.

"I'll take your word for it." TenTen said with a laugh. When all the girls were done Ino and Sakura looked at each other.

"Guess what you guys?" Sakura asked.

"What?" asked Hinata and TenTen simultaneously.

"You two have clean up!" Ino exclaimed as she and Sakura raced from the kitchen. TenTen and Hinata sighed.

"I knew them making us breakfast was too good to be true." TenTen said. "But then, we can always get revenge for being left with dish duty."

"What did you have in mind?" Hinata asked.

When Hinata and TenTen had put all of the dished away, they started working on their plan. TenTen put dish soap on the floor right in front of the door, and Hinata stood ready with the hose from the sink.

"Sakura, Ino! Come here! Quick!" TenTen yelled in her most urgent voice.

"What? What's wrong?" Sakura yelled as the two girls came running threw the doorway. They slipped on the soap and fell on their buts, still sliding to a waiting Hinata. She turned on the spray nozzle and soaked both of them. Sakura and Ino were screeching the entire time.

"Got ya!" TenTen exclaimed. "That's what you get for leaving us with dish duty!" Hinata just giggled at her two friends.

"Ok, so you got us." Sakura said in an eerie way as she stood up from the ground. She glanced at Ino who was glancing at her, and they both turned towards the sink. They each grabbed two sponges and turned back around.

"So here you go right back!" Ino exclaimed as the two girls launched their sponges, hitting TenTen and Hinata dead on.

"You're going to pay for that!" TenTen exclaimed, picking up a sponge.

"You'd better watch out!" Hinata yelled as she picked up two of the sponges laying near her feet.

Pretty soon the girls were in an all out water fight. Too bad for them they didn't notice the time. Sakura just happened to glance at the clock as she ducked for cover and let out a gasp.

"What? What's wrong?" Ino asked.

"My mom's going to be home any minute! There's no way we'll get this place cleaned up!" Sakura exclaimed. The girls looked around the kitchen. Everything was soaked, chairs were overturned. The kitchen looked like Sakura's room at the moment. Although instead of feathers, it was covered in soap and water.

"Well, there's only one way to know for sure!" Hinata exclaimed as she turned to a drawer and pulled out a ton of dishtowels. "Get to drying, girls!" She tossed about three or four towels to each girl, who in turn started drying everything in sight. Ino tied two towels to her feet, and skated around the room, drying the floor, setting chairs back in place as she went. Sakura started drying the counters, while Hinata and TenTen dried off the appliances. Just as Sakura threw the last towel into the washing machine, her mother walked into the kitchen. Sakura ran out of the laundry room quickly, shutting the door as quietly as possible behind her.

A/N: Ok, so what's gonna happen? You'll have to wait and find out! Reviews are much appreciated! Also, I know this chapter doesn't have much happening in it, but the next one hopefully should!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Just as Sakura threw the last towel into the washing machine, her mother walked into the kitchen. Sakura ran out of the laundry room quickly, shutting the door as quietly as possible behind her. Her mother didn't seem to notice her, because she was too amazed looking around the kitchen.

"Did you girls do this?" Mrs. Haruno asked looking around.

"Ummm…" The girls muttered as the fidgeted. Was 'this' a good thing, or a bad thing?

"You girls saved Mimi and I a whole lot of work next week." She commented. The girls exhaled. Obviously 'this' was a good thing. Sakura looked at her friends and motioned towards the doorway.

"Well, mom, we're just going to go upstairs now." Sakura said cheerfully. Mrs. Haruno just nodded in stunned silence as she once again looked around her kitchen. Sakura was almost out the door when she heard her mother speak to her again.

"Sakura?" her mother questioned.

'Yes?" Sakura asked nervously.

"Why is my favorite painting wet?" Sakura gulped.

"Umm..Well, I guess someone decided to clean it and forgot to dry it off?" Sakura said, more as a question than a statement.

"If I wasn't so happy about how clean the kitchen is, I might just be more suspicious about this." Her mother said, giving a pointed look at Sakura. Sakura just looked at her mother and ran up to her room where her friends were.

"We're so lucky. Someone forgot to dry off her painting of that tree, and she wanted to know why. I think the shock of the kitchen being so clean got her off our trail though." Sakura said. Ino just giggled, and Hinata turned pale at the prospect of doing something to get in trouble. If her father found out there would go her privileges. TenTen on the other hand grinned wickedly. Displeasing her mother was her new favorite thing to do.

"No, TenTen, we're not letting your mother know we practically destroyed my kitchen. Just be satisfied with her imagined reaction." Sakura said, reading her friends mind. "Think of how in trouble the rest of us would be, ok?"

"Fine." TenTen sighed. "Can I at least tell her we trashed your room with feathers?" Sakura nodded. TenTen's mother not only tried to control her daughters diet and extracurricular activities, but she was also a neat freak, and thought she had taught TenTen to be as neat as possible. Ever since TenTen had decided to get back at her mother for trying to control her life, however, TenTen had become a slob. Her room looked like a tornado had hit it, and any mess she made, she made a point of letting her mother know she had done it.

"I don't get it TenTen, what is all this doing for you anyways?" Hinata asked.

"It makes my mom mad, which makes me happy." TenTen said matter-of-factly.

"Has she punished you at all for refusing to clean your room?" Ino asked.

"Yea, she threatened to take away my cell phone, and I handed to her and said 'Here you go.'" TenTen said.

"And she just gave up?" Sakura asked.

"I think that once she realized I didn't care, she gave up on trying to punish me." TenTen said.

"So does she still get mad about everything you're doing?" Ino asked.

"Yea, she gets this look on her face then storms off." TenTen said happily. The other girls just looked at each other.

"TenTen, don't you think you're taking this just a little too far?" Hinata asked.

"Seriously, Ten, Hinata's right. I mean, you've already shown your mom that she can't control everything you do, so how bout you give it a little bit of a rest?" Sakura asked.

"What do you guys mean?" TenTen asked. "This is just the beginning! I'm finally showing her that she isn't the one who makes my decisions for me."

"Alright, TenTen, if you aren't going to stop, we can't make you." Ino said. "So, who wants to go to the mall?"

"Quick subject change Ino. Hoping someone will be there?" Sakura teased.

"Oh, but he might find it just a bit too troublesome." TenTen joined right in.

"Come on, you guys. You know that you want to see Neji and Sasuke just as much as I want to see Shikamaru. And, well, Hinata and Naruto are practically dating!" Ino exclaimed while Hinata blushed.

"Yea, I guess you're right." Sakura said as she looked at her friends. "To the mall it is!" The girls quickly changed out of their pajamas into one of the many outfits they had brought with them. You never know what you might need, right? When the girls were ready to go, they grabbed there bags and headed downstairs. Three of the girls tiptoed out the door, and out to the limo, where Sakura had told the driver to wait for them.

"Mom?" Sakura yelled.

"Yes, dear?" Came the reply of Mrs. Haruno.

"We're going to the mall! Expect me back in a couple of hours, but we'll be dropping the girls off on the way there." "Sakura explained.

"Ok, dear, just don't be too long." Mrs. Haruno called after her. Sakura only hoped that her mother wouldn't go near her room. The girls had yet to clean up all of those feathers.

When Sakura had gotten out of the house and into the limo with her friends, she then spoke, "Where are going to first? Do we know any of the places the guys visit at the mall?"

"Umm...Nope." TenTen said.

"Well, I guess we could start at the arcade." Ino suggested. She remembered Shikamaru saying something about how the guys liked playing video games.

Sakura nodded as she made a mental list of the few places the girls were suggesting.

"Another place that we could look, if they aren't at the mall, is this diner that's really close to it. When we went on our date, Naruto and Shikamaru told Ino and I that they go there a lot." Hinata said. "They have really good food there, so we can just stop there for lunch later."

"Sounds good to me." Sakura said. "So the first place we're checking is the arcade, then the sports store, then the video game store, then the diner. Any objections?" The girls all shook there heads, and they clamored out of the limo and into the parking lot.

"Operation locate the guys is in operation!" Sakura said as the girls made their way through the front entrance and towards the arcade. There reason for being there: To have a Dance Dance Revolution tournament. Unfortunately, the guys weren't that easy to find. After a round for each of the girls, they decided to check out the sports store. Sakura actually needed to pick up some golf stuff to give to her father for his birthday. But the guys weren't there either. So once Sakura made her purchase, they made their way to the video game store. Sadly, the only one they knew there was Kiba.

"Hello, ladies." Kiba said as he walked up to them.

"Oh, we were just looking for a video game for Sakura's little brother." Hinata said.

"How sweet of you." Kiba said. "So, Hinata, have you changed your mind yet?"

"Um, actually, no I haven't. I still want to go with Naruto." Hinata said as she blushed lightly.

"Suit yourself, then. Just letting you know that I know you're going to change your mind soon." Kiba said as he flashed Hinata a smile and left the store.

"Um, let's get out of here before he decides to come back." Ino said as the girls left the store, forgetting about the video game. They went out to where the limo was parked and got in.

"Ok so I guess we're going to the diner." Sakura said as the driver took off in the direction that Ino pointed out to him.

"No guys anywhere." Sakura said with a sigh. She wanted to see Sasuke really badly. And she was really hoping that maybe he would ask her to the dance.

"We still haven't checked the diner yet." TenTen pointed out.

"And even if they aren't there, the food is awesome!" Ino exclaimed.

"Yea, I guess." Sakura replied glumly.

"Come on Sakura, you're going to see Sasuke the day after tomorrow. It's not that far away you know." Ino pointed out.

"Yea, I don't know, I was just kind of hoping that he would ask me to the dance if he saw me outside of school. We don't really get to talk that much during school." Sakura said.

"Well, we can help you there. I mean, we did help Naruto and Hinata." TenTen pointed out.

"Yea, and even though I wanted to get mad at you guys for interfering, I couldn't because I was so happy that he asked me out. And then he asked me to homecoming, too." Hinata said happily.

"And next you'll be his girlfriend." Ino said.

"I wish." Hinata said. The girls looked up when the driver announced their arrival at the diner.

A/N: ok, I'm so sorry for updating late! I was going to update yesterday, but then we went to the carnival at the firehouse here, adn didn't get back until midnight.So, the girls went on a guy hunt. Well, reviews are much aprpeciated!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"I wish." Hinata said. The girls looked up when the driver announced their arrival at the diner. They exited the car and walked up to the entrance, stepping in after a look at each other.

"Hi! How many?" A waitress at the front of the restaurant asked.

"Four." Sakura replied. From what she could see, the guys weren't here. The only booth she couldn't see came into view as the girls walked by. And it just so happened that a certain four guys were sitting at the biggest booth in the restaurant. The corner booth, which could easily sit ten people.

"Hinata?" Naruto said as he recognized his friend and date.

"N-Naruto, what a surprise running into you guys here!" She said nervously.

"Well, we told you guys we come here all the time, remember?" Naruto said, grinning at Hinata. Hinata nodded her head that yes, she did remember.

"What brings you guys here?" Shikamaru asked.

"Well, the food here was so good when we came here with you guys, we wanted Sakura and TenTen to get a chance to try it." Ino said.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, "I've got an idea! Why don't you guys sit with us! We can make room!"

"Oh, we don't want to bother you guys." Sakura said.

"You wouldn't be bothering us, we'd be glad to have you guys sit with us!" Naruto exclaimed then looked to his friends, "Right guys?"

"Hn." Sasuke said as he scooted over from his spot, making room for the girls, and obvious yes. Neji followed his lead, as well as Shikamaru.

"Well, ok then." Sakura said, while inside Inner-Sakura was rejoicing, **"Yes! You're about to eat lunch with that total hottie Sasuke! Sit across from him! Sit across from him!" ** Sakura complied to her inner self as she waited for her friends to slip in. She slipped in last. Hinata was sitting next to Naruto, in the corner of the booth, Ino was across from Shikamaru, and TenTen was across from Neji. Leaving Sakura across from Sasuke. **"Scoore!" **Sakura's Inner-self said while doing a little dance. _'Well, you can stop rejoicing, we're with other people, remember? He won't talk half as much as he does when it's just us. And it hasn't been just us since the project.' _

"Hi, Sasuke." Sakura said.

"Hi." He replied.

"So, what's been up lately?" Sakura asked.

"Lots of schoolwork." Sasuke said. "It's like every teacher thinks they're the only one giving us homework."

"Yea, I know what you mean. And ca you believe Gai-sensei?" Sakura asked. "I mean, how are we supposed to study for a test in p.e.?"

"Didn't you buy that book that you needed?" Sasuke asked her. Sakura shook her head no. "Well, you need it. The first quiz is on basketball. It's written."

Sakura's face paled. "But that quiz is Wednesday! I'll never get a book by then!"

"Relax." Sasuke said. "I'll photocopy the pages about basketball out of mine for you. Ok?"

"Yea, that'd be great!" Sakura replied, feeling a little bit relieved.

"How bout you come home with me after lunch?" Sasuke asked her. "I can photocopy the pages for you and we can study together some."

'_Oh my gosh! A study date!' _Sakura thought as inner-Sakura rejoiced. **"Yes! A study date!" **Inner-Sakura did a little dance as she punched her hands in the air. "That would really awesome." Sakura said with a smile.

"Ok then." Sasuke said as he smiled back at her.

"**Oh, yea! He smiled at us!'** Inner-Sakura exclaimed as she did yet another dance. Sakura glanced over at her friends and caught Ino's eye. Her friend's were happy for her, she could tell, but Ino wasn't getting much of anywhere with Shikamaru. They knew that he liked her, so what was the problem? Sakura suddenly got an evil glint in her eye as she thought of something that might help her friend's plight.

"So, Ino, what are you going to do when that Chouji guy asks you to homecoming?" Sakura asked her friend while watching Shikamaru's expression. At this question his eyes seemed to harden a bit. Just a little more prodding and Sakura knew that she could make him jealous of their classmate Chouji.

"What?" Ino asked surprised. "I didn't know that Chouji was going to ask me!"

Sakura looked a little embarrassed. She really should have told Ino sooner, but now she was glad that she hadn't. "I thought I told you! I guess I forgot. He asked me what I thought you'd say if he asked you to the homecoming."

Ino looked at her friend, "And you said?"

"I said that I wasn't sure what you'd say." Sakura said. Ino gave her the look. "What, did you want me to say, no, Ino would never go for you, so just get over yourself?"

"I guess not. Now I have to figure out what to do." Ino said as she took a sip of her water.

"Well, you could always go with him; you still don't have a date yet, remember?" Sakura asked, giving her friend a pointed look.

"Yea, that's always an option." Ino said. Maybe she was catching on. "I just really don't like him that much." Or maybe not. "Still, I could go with him. I mean, I really don't want to show up with no date." Ok, she was catching on.

"Well, this could be your solution." Sakura said.

"Yea, you're right." Ino replied.

"Um, Ino, can I talk to you for a minute?" Shikamaru asked, motioning that they should get out of the booth and walk outside.

"Sure." Ino said. Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, and TenTen all slid out of the booth so that Ino and Shikamaru could get out. Ino gave Sakura a happy look as she went by her friend.

Ino and Shikamaru walked until they were outside of the restaurant, where no one would over here their conversation.

"You, know, Ino." Shikamaru started, and Ino just looked at him. "I don't think Chouji would be a very good date for you."

"Oh, really?" Ino asked. "And why's that."

"Well, you guys aren't alike at all, and I can't see you getting along with him. I mean, he eats twenty four hours a day." Shikamaru said, as he started rambling on.

"Shikamaru, can you just get to the point?" Ino asked him.

"Well, do you want to go to the dance with me?" Shikamaru asked her. "And not just this dance, all of the dances, Ino, will you be my girlfriend?"

Ino threw her arms around him as she nearly shouted her reply, "Yes! Of course I will be!" She took her head off of his shoulder ad brought it back to look at him. He leaned his head down, and she tilted hers up, bringing her lips to his, so that their lips met for a brief second. Ino then took her head away, and smiled prettily at him. Shikamaru reached for Ino's hand as they walked back into the restaurant, only letting go when they reached the booth.

"Do you guys have something to tell us?" Sakura asked their friends.

"Shikamaru and I are going out now." Ino said, a small blush on her cheeks as she remembered their kiss from earlier.

"That's great!" TenTen said, happy for her friends. Neji and Sasuke just 'Hned'.

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed. "I wanted to ask Hinata to be my girlfriend, first!" Naruto looked over at Hinata, who was turning bright red, and then realized what he had just said. _'Maybe Sasuke's right about that thinking thing. If I did it before I spoke I wouldn't cause all these problems. Well, there's only one thing to do.' _ Naruto looked back over at Hinata and said, "So, Hinata? What do you say?"

"Yes, Naruto!" Hinata said, her smile was enormous, and they could all tell how happy she was.

Sakura and TenTen smiled for their friends. They were happy, and that made the other two happy. Except for the fact that both girl's felt left out. They wanted the guys sitting across from them to ask them out, too. Sure, TenTen hadn't voiced it, but it wasn't too hard to read the expression on her face.

A/N: Ok, I wasn't going to have Naruto ask Hinata out in the same chapter, but then I thought of Naruto just exclaiming that and had to put it in. So two couples are official, for now, anyways. evil smile Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

They wanted the guys sitting across from them to ask them out, too. Sure, TenTen hadn't voiced it, but it wasn't too hard to read the expression on her face. When their food came, the girls were chattering excitedly, and the guys were just sitting there, looking at the girls in amazement. They'd never seen them talk this fast, and they didn't know that it was possible. They couldn't even understand what they were saying.

Ino turned towards the guys and asked them something, but they didn't understand.

"Ino, could you slow it down a little, we aren't quite used to talking at the speed of light." Shikamaru said.

Ino giggled, "Sorry, I was just asking Sasuke and Neji if they were going to the Homecoming. We know that you and Naruto are, Shikamaru."

"Hn. I don't know. Not with all those girls that will be there stalking me." Sasuke said.

"Possibly." was Neji's reply.

"Oh, come on! You guys should definitely come! It's going to be so much fun!" Ino said. "You've never been to a Konoha High dance before, so you have to come to this one!"

"I suppose." Neji said.

"Hn." was all that they got from Sasuke.

"Ok, then. I'll take that as a yes, Sasuke." Ino said, and before he could object, the girls were back to their chatter. When they had all finished their food, Sakura walked with the girls back to her limo.

"I hope you guys don't mind, but I'm going to be going over to Sasuke's. He invited me over to study for that test in P.E. that's coming up. He said he'll photocopy the pages about basketball for me." Sakura said with a huge grin on her face. She and Sasuke hadn't hung out since their project had been finished.

"Oh, go ahead!" Ino exclaimed.

"Maybe while you guy are studying he'll ask you to the homecoming!" TenTen said.

"I hope." Sakura sighed. "Well, I'm going home with them. So I'll see you guys later, ok?"

"'K, by!" The girls chorused, and Hinata added, "Sakura, don't forget to call your mother. You promised her you'd be home after a couple of hours."

"Oh! Thanks, Hinata! I almost forgot! I'll do that before I head back over there." Sakura said as she pulled out her cell phone and quickly dialed her mom's number.

"Hello? Sakura?" her mother's voice came over the phone.

"Yea, mom. I was just calling to tell you that Sasuke invited me over to study for a test in P.E. I didn't want you to worry so I decided to call." Sakura explained.

"Sakura, you've been out so much lately. Well, I guess since you're studying it'll be all right. And that Sasuke is pretty handsome. Go and have fun." Mrs. Haruno said.

"Thanks, mom!" Sakura exclaimed. "I'll call you when I'm done, ok?"

"Ok, sweetie, I love you." Ms. Haruno said.

"Love you, too, mom." Sakura replied as she hung up.

"And you'd better call us with all of the details." Ino said.

Sakura giggled, "I doubt much is going to happen, but ok, I will." Sakura quickly hugged her friends and thanked them for coming over, a habit she still couldn't break even though they lived at each other's houses. She then turned and walked over to Sasuke's limo.

Sasuke was leaning against it waiting for her. "Took you long enough."

"Sorry, I had to call my mom." Sakura said with a smile.

"It's ok. Come on, let's go." Sasuke replied as he opened the door for her. Sakura stepped into the car, surprised to find it empty of Sasuke's friends.

"Um, Sasuke?" Sakura asked when he had sat down across from her.

"Yea?" He asked back.

"Where's Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru?" Sakura asked. She hoped she hadn't taken their spots in the car.

"Oh, they went home in Naruto's limo. We kind of had this race thing on the way here, so they decided to take his limo home." Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, ok." Sakura said, a bit relieved. "So what's been up lately, other than homework?"

"Nothing really. Just the usual. All those fan girls shoving their notes in my locker gets really annoying." Sasuke said.

"I know how you feel. All the fan boys that I have have been leaving notes in my locker asking me to the homecoming. I can't stand it." Sakura said. "It wouldn't be so bad if they'd ask me to my face, but if they can't even do that, why should I go with them."

"I could do without any of it." Sasuke said. "I don't even really want to go to the dance."

"Yea, I could kind of tell. I'm sorry that Ino shoved that on you back there." Sakura said. "She's really into the decorating. Boosters is in charge of that."

"So you guys are decorating?" Sasuke asked.

"Yea, it always falls to the sophomores to decorate for homecoming." Sakura replied. "We've been looking forward to it since last year."

"I'll bet. That seems right up your alley." Sasuke replied.

"Yea, but it's a big responsibility. Homecoming is the most attended dance. All four grades attend it normally, while most Juniors and Seniors don't attend winter formal for some reason, and none attend spring formal because of prom. So the decorations have to be almost perfect." Sakura said.

"That shouldn't be too hard. You did a great job with our backboard for our science project, so you should be able to do wonders with a whole gym." Sasuke said. "So what's the theme you guys decided on for the homecoming?"

"Well, after a lot of debate it was decided on City of Lights." Sakura said. "Although some people don't like the idea."

"Who doesn't like it?" he asked.

"Oh, just that girl Sara from homeroom. She really seems to hate me and the girls." Sakura said.

"I wonder why." Sasuke said.

"No clue." Sakura replied.

"Well, we're here." Sasuke said as he got out of the car, holding the door open for Sakura.

"Thanks." Sakura said as she grabbed her purse and exited the car. She followed Sasuke to the front door, which he promptly inserted a key into and turned it, unlocking the house. They walked into the front hall, and Sasuke went over to a little table and picked up a note.

"They went out to dinner." Sasuke said. "And Itachi should be home soon. He's visiting from college. You can wait in the family room; I'm going to go grab my P.E. book from my room."

Sakura nodded, vaguely remembering where the family room was located. Thankfully she found the big wooden doors that she remembered easily. She entered the room and sat down on the couch. She looked around the room, seeing that not much had changed in the time that she hadn't been here. After a little while she was starting to wonder what was taking Sasuke so long. She finally heard the door open and stood up, ready to meet Sasuke at the door and take the book from him, only to find someone who looked a lot like Sasuke, but wasn't him.

"Hello. Who might you be, and how did you end up in this house?" The man asked her.

"Um, I'm Sakura, Sakura Haruno. I'm waiting for Sasuke to come back from getting a school book." Sakura explained, then added, "We're going to study."

"Ah, so I see my brother's finally brought a girlfriend home." The boy smiled wickedly at her. "I'm Sasuke's brother Itachi, by the way."

"Um, actually, Sasuke and I are just friends. He offered to help me study for a test in P.E. that's coming up." Sakura said.

"And you're the first girl that he's ever offered help to. So therefore that means that he cares about you to some extent." Itachi said.

"Itachi, what are you doing in here?" Sasuke asked as he stepped into the room holding the book and some pieces of paper that Sakura assumed were the photocopies of the pages she would need.

"Ah, hello, little brother." Itachi replied. "Last time I checked, I lived here for most of my life and was coming home during a brief college break. And I was just talking to your girlfriend here."

"Itachi, get out, now." Sasuke said, sounding annoyed.

"Ok, little brother, I'll just leave you and your girlfriend alone to 'study'." Itachi put air quotes around the word study s he smirked. He then exited the room, shutting the door behind him.

"I'm sorry about him." Sasuke said to Sakura.

Oh don't worry about it, he's quite um..." Sakura trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Annoying fill in your blank?" Sasuke asked as he sat down on the couch.

Sakura laughed as she said, "That, but I was thinking more along the lines of interesting."

"Ok, let's start studying." Sasuke said. "Do you know anything about basketball?" Sakura nodded her head yes, and explained the little that she knew about the game. Sasuke then began going over the rest, following the major points from the book.

A/N: Ok, so she met Itachi. I just had to put that in there, lolz. I think that's going to be the extent of their study date. Unless people really want me to continue it. So I'm waiting for a couple of reviews before I start the next chapter, ok? So please review and give me your opinion!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sakura nodded her head yes, and explained the little that she knew about the game. Sasuke then began going over the rest, following the major points from the book.

"I think that you've got it, Sakura." Sasuke said to her.

"Can you quiz me one more time?" Sakura asked. "I'm really nervous about this test. I didn't know teachers could even give tests in P.E., let alone tests on sports."

Sasuke laughed a little, 'Well, you know now. Are you sure you want to go over it again?"

"Positive." Sakura replied.

"Fine." Sasuke said. "How many players are on a court at the same time?"

"Five." Sakura replied automatically.

"How many points is a basket worth?" Sasuke asked.

"Two, or three if it's past the three point line." Sakura said.

"How big is the college sized basketball court?" Sasuke asked.

"50 feet by 94 feet." Sakura replied.

"Why was basketball invented?" Sasuke quizzed.

"To keep unruly football players in line during the winter season. Or, rather, to give them something to do." Sakura said.

"Sakura, you know this stuff as well as I do. Are you satisfied now?" Sasuke asked his friend.

"I guess. Although I'm still going to be a little nervous. I always am before any kind of test." Sakura replied.

'Well, I can assure you that you're going to do fine." Sasuke said.

"Thanks, Sasuke." Sakura said with a smile. "I actually do feel a bit confident about this test. If only just a little bit."

"That's good." Sasuke replied.

"Yea, it is." Sakura said.

"So, Sakura, do you want to stay for dinner? I'm guessing that your house has already eaten since it's getting a little bit late." Sasuke said.

"Yea, that would be nice." Sakura said.

"Ok, well, we're having spaghetti, so I hope you like it." Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded her head. "It's one of my favorite foods." She said with a smile.

"Hn. That's good then." Sasuke said. "Come on, I'll show you where the dining room is. It'll probably just be you, me and Itachi since my parents went out for dinner." Sasuke said as he led Sakura out of the room.

"That's ok." Sakura said.

"Oh, and you might want to do your best to ignore Itachi." Sasuke said.

"I'll add that to my mental list of things to do." Sakura said.

"Ok then." Sasuke said. They walked the rest of the way to the dining room in silence. After a couple of minutes, they arrived at the dining room.

"You can sit there." Sasuke said as he motioned to a seat opposite the one he was sitting in. There was one other seat, which was next to both of them, where she assumed Itachi would sit. Her assumption was proved to be correct when Itachi walked into the dining room a couple of minutes later and sat in the empty seat.

"Ah, I see your girlfriend is staying for dinner, little brother." Itachi said.

"Itachi, she isn't my girlfriend." Sasuke said.

"But you wish she was." Itachi said. Sasuke chose to ignore this statement, and Sakura was blushing.

"So, Sakura was it?" Itachi asked turning towards Sakura.

"Um, yes?" Sakura asked him.

"How long have you and my brother been together?" He asked her.

"Actually, like Sasuke said, we're only friends." Sakura replied to his question.

"Hmm. You two won't be saying that for long." Itachi said. Sakura felt compelled to say something else to him, but remembered Sasuke's advice.

'_Is this what Sasuke has to deal with al of the time?'_ She thought. Sure, Taichi could be annoying, but he knew when to stop his pestering. And Itachi just didn't know when to stop. _'I have a feeling that this is how the rest of the meal is going to go.' _

"So, Sasuke, do you know who's picking up from school monday?" Sakura asked, even though she already knew. It was TenTen's turn to have her driver pick up.

"It's TenTen's, I think." Sasuke said.

"Ok, that's what I thought, but I wasn't sure." Sakura said.

"So have you started the packet for Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Not yet. I've been kind of busy lately." He replied.

"I've done the first two pages, and it's pretty easy, except for a few questions." Sakura said.

"Well, it shouldn't be too much of a problem then." Sasuke replied.

"Wow, Sasuke." Itachi said, 'I've never heard you talk this much to a girl besides mother. Things must be serious."

Sasuke sighed, "Itachi, will you please quit it?" Sasuke asked his older brother.

"Oh, now you're getting defensive! I must have hit a sensitive spot!" Itachi exclaimed with fake concern in his voice and a smirk on his face. "Well, little brother? Is it true? Is your sensitive spot Sakura-chan?"

Sakura was blushing like mad at this point, but she followed Sasuke's lead and ignored him.

"So, Sakura?" Itachi asked her. "You know how pretty you are?" Sakura just sat there ignoring him, and concentrating on her spaghetti, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. "You know, if Sasuke isn't going to go after you, maybe I should. What do you think, Sasuke?" Sasuke ignored him. "So, Sakura, do you want to go out sometime? Hmm?" Sakura still ignored him. He went on pestering her as well as Sasuke for the rest of dinner.

When they had finished eating, Sakura was just glad to escape being in the same room as Itachi. Once Sasuke excused himself from the table, so did she. They left the dining room and went back to the living room.

Once they were seated on the couch, Sasuke turned to her. "I'm really sorry about Itachi. If I had known he'd be ten times worse at dinner, then I would have had us eat in the kitchen."

"Oh, don't worry about it." Sakura replied. "But I have a question: Does he always act like that?"

"Like what? Being totally and completely annoying?" Sasuke asked. "Kind of. He knows that I'm living in his shadow at the moment. Everything I do is compared to him. It's not fun, especially since he's a genius."

"But, Sasuke, you're really smart too." Sakura said, concerned for her friend.

"Not as smart as Itachi. I'm stupid compared to him. At least in my parents' eyes, I am." Sasuke said.

"That's not true, Sasuke!" Sakura said as she threw her arms around her friend, hugging him. "You're really smart, and I don't want to hear you comparing yourself to your brother again, ok?" Sakura asked as she leaned back so that she could look at him. Sasuke just looked at his friend, dumbfounded.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, wanting his answer.

"I'll try, Sakura. I'll try." Sasuke said as he shook his head. This girl truly amazed him.

A/N: I don't really like the way this chapter turned out. It was really hard to write for some reason. I'd like to thank finalfantasy for her idea of Itachi hitting on Sakura. You guys, I do consider every idea that someone throws my way, so don't be afraid to tell me if you do have an idea for my story. Also, for everyone who helped me get through the couple of weeks after my cat Zoe died, I'd like to let you guys know that my family went to the animal shelter yesterday and we adopted a cat. She's around two years old, and we named her Isabelle, Izzy for short. We pick her up from the vet tomorrow evening. She'll never replace Zoe, but I'm glad that we can make another animal a part of our family. -


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"I'll try, Sakura. I'll try." Sasuke said as he shook his head. This girl truly amazed him.

**Later that Evening**

"So?" Ino asked her friend.

"So what?" Sakura asked back. She was lying on her back, on her bed, with her head hanging over the side.

"What happened?" Ino demanded. TenTen and Hinata could be heard sighing.

"Well, we studied for a little bit, and he said I knew everything there was to know. So he invited me to stay for dinner." Sakura said.

"What happened then?" TenTen asked.

"Well, his parents had gone out to eat, so-" Sakura started to say but was cut off by Ino.

"You guys were alone at his house? And you had dinner by yourselves? That's so cute!" Ino exclaimed happily.

"No, Ino. We weren't alone." Sakura sighed. She wished they had been.

"Who was there with you, then?" Hinata asked.

"Sasuke's older brother Itachi. He was home from college. He had a break from his studies." Sakura explained to her friends. "He's really annoying, too. He kept saying stuff to us about how long we'd been together and kept saying that we were going out, no matter how many times Sasuke or I said we weren't together."

"So? Maybe he just thinks you guys should be together. I do." Ino said.

"Yea, but then he started saying stuff to me to get Sasuke mad." Sakura said.

"What kind of stuff?" TenTen asked.

"He was all like 'Sakura, you know how hot you are? You know, if Sasuke isn't going to ask you out, maybe I should' It was really annoying." Sakura said, sounding agitated at thinking about it again. "He really loves to get on Sasuke's nerves, and he knows he does even though Sasuke doesn't get upset."

"Sounds like someone is trying to ruin your relationship with Sasuke." Ino pointed out.

"What relationship? We're just friends, right now, Ino." Sakura said.

"Right now are the key words. You guys are so going to be an item in the near future. I mean, think about it, you guys are perfect for each other!" Ino exclaimed.

"Ino's right, Sakura, you guys really are perfect for each other." TenTen said.

"Hinata, what's your opinion on this?" Sakura asked her quiet friend.

"I agree with Ino and TenTen." Hinata said.

"I'm outnumbered by you guys." Sakura said. "But still, we are just friends. Even if I do want us to be more than that."

"Then you have to go for him!" Ino exclaimed.

"What? And then have him hate me because I turned into some kind of fan girl?" Sakura asked. "I value my friendship with him too much. I like him a lot, but if I lost him because I wanted to get together with him… I just don't know. I don't even know how he feels about me."

"You do have a point. He's way too cold to let anyone know how he feels." Ino said.

"Really?" Sakura asked, sounding surprised. "I don't think he's that cold."

"That's because he talks to you, Sakura." TenTen said.

"Yes, he talks to you more than anyone, is what Naruto told me." Hinata said.

"Really?" Sakura asked again. She knew Sasuke didn't talk a lot, and she knew that he didn't talk to the girls that much, but Naruto saying that he talked to her more than him? And he was Sasuke's best friend.

"No, Forehead, we're playing a practical joke on you." Ino said, "Yes, really!"

"I just can't believe he talks to me more than Naruto." Sakura said. "Well, you guys. I've got to go. I have things I need to get done tonight." Sakura said.

"All right, we'll talk to you later." Ino said. Her friend had 'things to do' on a Saturday night? Ino knew she did al of her homework on Fridays, and she hardly ever put any off until Saturday. And if she had, it was something that would take her only a couple of seconds to complete. What could she possibly have to do?

Sakura looked at the immense stacks of notes that had been shoved inside her locker. _'I'd better get to sending answers.' _She thought. She started up the computer and grabbed the stack that had been given to her with e-mail addresses to reply to. _'Why can't they just ask me face to face? I mean, no one has, Sasuke's not, so I'd probably say yes.' _

Sakura looked at the first letter; it was from a guy named Nick. He was in Science with her. She quickly logged onto her e-mail and typed a standard e-mail declining the invitation, and then sent it. She sent this e-mail to everyone in the e-mail pile. She then moved on to phone numbers, texting those that she could, and calling those that had given home phones. And then she read the next stack. It had locker numbers. Sakura sighed as she pulled up a word document, typed a quick note declining the invitation, and printed out about ten copies of it. She would have to try and slip them into the lockers without the guys seeing her. She didn't want to find out how these fan boys would handle rejection when the ones on the phone had started blubbering, or becoming increasingly angry, or started acting despaired.

'_This really is a pain.' _Sakura thought a couple of hours later when she had finally finished replying in any way that she could to the notes. She laid down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. _'And there will be more tomorrow. But the dance is the weekend after next, so it will all end soon.' _

Sakura closed her eyes and welcomed the sleep that came. She didn't care if it was only ten o'clock or not, she was exhausted.

A/N: ok, guys, I'm so sorry for the late update and short chapter! Things at my house, once again, are really bad. My grandmother is dying, and my mom has flown out to be with her. My dad still has to work, so I'm pretty much getting my one sister ready for school, and watching my other sister. And on top of all of it, I have summer school work that I put off until the last minute, and have to have finished by Tuesday. Well, comments are much appreciated. And also, I don't know when to expect an update, because school for me starts next Tuesday, and I'm already dreading the avalanche of work. But every free moment I get, I'm typing.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sakura closed her eyes and welcomed the sleep that came. She didn't care if it was only ten o'clock or not, she was exhausted.

**The next day**

TenTen was outside, in the woods making her way to her favorite spot. It was an old fort from when she was little, and she had built it out of a mismatch assortment of items. She hadn't bought the supplies, no, she'd found a trash heap near the edge of the woods one day, and you know the how the saying goes "one man's trash is another man's treasure." Well, that saying was extremely true for a nine year old TenTen. She had dragged the stuff that she wanted to a spot near a little creek, with a perfect tree for a fort in nearby. She'd succeeded in making a small platform to sit on out of some of the wood that was salvageable, but that was about all that was in the tree. Hanging from the tree, however, was a tire swing that had been made from an old tire and a piece of rope. It hung just at the waters edge, and at one time, an adventurous TenTen had used it to swing across the creek.

She had also found an old tarp that she had made a sort of tent out of. She had shoved an old lawn chair under it, and when it rained she could sit under there and watch without getting wet. She'd fashioned a bridge out of an old log she had found sitting nearby, and it allowed her to cross the creek and visit the other side, without the danger of falling in, which in turn had been made into an extension of the fort. An old satellite dish and some cable? To TenTen that made a wonderful hanging chair, so that's what she had done. Nearby there was a pit that she had dug and lined with some old bricks. It was a fire pit, although she hadn't dared to use it when she was little, only pretend. In the junk pile there had also been a giant light post. TenTen had somehow dragged it to her fort, and gotten it to stand upright. She had then proceeded to decorate it with spray paint she had snuck out of her parents' garage.

Farther behind the satellite swing, the remains of an attempt to build a log cabin out of sticks sat there, four walls that came to TenTen's thigh now. Nearby was a ladder that was leaned against a tree. The tree was a weird shape, and had grown up, then sideways, and then up again. TenTen had used the ladder to climb up there, and see what she thought was the most beautiful sight ever. Her fort. To an adventurous kid, it was paradise. Now, TenTen climbed up onto the small wooden plat form in the tree and laid down on her stomach, her head resting on her arms.

'_Why am I always the one without a date?' _TenTen thought to herself. _'Sure Sakura doesn't have a date right now, but if she wanted to, she could. But no one's even bothered asking me.' _Yes, TenTen had gone out to the fort to sulk. And why shouldn't she? It's not like anyone was going to find her. At least that's what she had thought.

"TenTen?" a familiar voice said her name.

TenTen sat up and whipped her head around, almost falling of the small platform in the process. "Neji?!" She exclaimed.

"Yea?" Neji replied.

"How did you get here?" She asked. She had never thought that anyone would ever be able to find there way here with out her guiding them.

"It was easy, really. I just followed the trail of broken twigs and branches. Your mom told me that I'd probably find you in the woods, so it wasn't too hard." Neji replied.

"Oh, I just thought that, well…" TenTen said.

"That no one would ever find this place?" Neji asked her.

"Well, yea, kind of." TenTen replied with a light blush.

"Someone who didn't know you wouldn't be able to find it. You don't have to worry about that." Neji said.

"Oh, well, that's good to know." TenTen said.

"So did you build this place?" Neji asked.

"When I was nine." TenTen said as she looked around and tried to see her beloved fort through someone else's eyes.

"Wow." Neji said looking around.

"It isn't that great, I know, but it's kind of like a second home." TenTen said.

"No, it looks great. Most nine year old girls probably can't even pick up a hammer, let alone build a something like that." Neji said, motioning to the platform that TenTen had been on when he had arrived.

"Really?" TenTen asked. "I just kind of found the wood and decided that I wanted a tree fort, so I got some nails and a hammer and that was the outcome."

"That's pretty amazing." Neji said.

"I guess. It was just something to do when I was little." TenTen replied.

"So is this where you come to get away from your parents?" Neji asked.

"Yea, it is. It's my own little part of the world, that I created. It's the perfect place to just get away." TenTen said.

"It's nice." Neji said.

"Yea, it is." TenTen replied. "So, why'd you come here?"

"I just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out today." Neji said.

"Yea, that'd be fun." TenTen said happily. "What did you have in mind?"

"Nothing really. Video games, or just talking." Neji said.

"Ok, then." TenTen said, her eye glinting, "Tag! You're it!" She said as she tagged him and then started running. She had the advantage since she knew every inch of these woods like the back of her hand. But then, Neji was fast, and was really good at predicting her next move. She ran and twisted through the trees, jumping over rocks and fallen trees as she came upon them. Eventually, however, she came to the hill. The hill was a hill where no trees grew, yet it was covered in leaves, with a big pile at the bottom. She paused for a second, and at that instant Neji tagged her, but did it just a bit too hard. TenTen lost her balance and grabbed Neji to try and right herself up, but it didn't work and both of them ended up tumbling down the hill. When they stopped rolling, they were lying side by side, and TenTen was laughing.

"What's so funny?" Neji asked her.

"Nothing. That was just a lot of fun." TenTen said as she rolled over on her side and looked at him.

"So do you do that often?" Neji asked.

"Do what?" TenTen asked back.

"Roll down that hill?" Neji replied.

"When I was younger I did. It's been just about forever since I have." TenTen replied.

"You know, you're so different from most of the girls in our class." Neji said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" TenTen asked.

'Well, most of the girls in our class wouldn't even step foot in the woods, let alone initiate a game of tag through the trees and start laughing when they rolled down a hill." Neji said.

"Yea, I know. Sakura and Ino only come back here when I really want them to. Hinata comes here a little more often than that, but still, I think I'm the only one who actually enjoys it so much." TenTen said.

"I can believe that." Neji said. "So, what do you think about the homecoming that's coming up?"

"What do I think about it?" TenTen said, "I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Last year we made a pact and went only with friends, no guys, but this year we decided that we should try and get dates, but that we wouldn't ditch someone because they didn't get one. So I think it's going to be a blast!"

"So you aren't upset about not having a date yet?" Neji asked her.

"Well, it would be great to have a date, but I wouldn't die if I didn't have one." TenTen replied.

"Really?" Neji said. "So what would you say to being my date?"

"Being your date?" TenTen repeated, as she looked at him incredulously. "I'd love to!"

"I'm glad to hear that." Neji replied, as he turned his head to look at her. She was smiling at him.

"Come on; let's get back to the fort." TenTen said as she started to get up.

"Hn. All right." Neji said as he walked with her back through the woods.

A/N: Ok, sooo very sorry for such a late update! Things have been very hectic around my house. My grandmother passed away last Monday, so we've been very busy with that, and there hasn't been a lot of time for typing…Anyways, I focused this chapter on NejiTen because a lot of people have been asking about what's going on with them… I have a hard tie with this couple because I don't want to make Neji seem OOC…but then, I have a hard time picturing him playing tag. Well, reviews are much appreciated!!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Hn. All right." Neji said as he walked with her back through the woods.

**The next Day in the Limo**

"Ok, guys, don't jump on me when I tell you this." TenTen said as she looked at the three faces that were looking intently at her.

"Ok, ok, just tell us already!" Ino exclaimed.

"Alright," TenTen said. "Neji asked me to the homecoming." She waited for her friends reaction.

"And??" Ino asked.

"And I said yes." TenTen said.

"I knew it!" Ino squealed.

"I'm really happy for you, TenTen." Hinata said.

'That's awesome!" Sakura exclaimed, hiding her sinking feeling about being the only one without a date.

"Yea, I know. I'm really excited about it." TenTen said happily.

"You're excited? About a date? This is a first." Ino said with a laugh. "You must really like him."

"Yea, I do." TenTen said with a small blush.

"It's just…"TenTen started.

"Just what?" Hinata asked her friend.

"Well, I really, really like him, but what if he sees me as just a good friend to go to the dance with, or he doesn't like me as much as I like him…" TenTen said. "It's stupid, I know…but I can't help but worry."

"TenTen, you really don't need to worry." Hinata said. "I went over there the other day and I heard him talking to someone about you. I don't know who it was because he was on the phone, but he was saying a lot of stuff that leads me to believe he's crazy about you, even if he doesn't show it. You know how he is. He doesn't show his emotions very often."

"Really, Hinata?" TenTen asked, totally shocked and happy at the same time. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!"

"You should. It isn't obvious that he likes you, true, but come on TenTen." Ino said.

"What do you mean, 'come on'?" TenTen asked her friend.

"Really, TenTen. He wouldn't be spending all of that time with you if he didn't like you. Guys just don't do that." Ino said as she rolled her eyes.

"Says you." TenTen said. She'd had plenty of just guy friends in the past. Ok, so that Mark guy had had a crush on her, but still, she'd had plenty of other guy friends.

"Sakura, what do you think?" Hinata asked her friend, who looked like she was staring off into space.

"Huh?" Sakura said as she snapped out of her thoughts. "What were we talking about again?"

"You weren't even paying attention?" TenTen asked, a little annoyed with her friend.

'Were you thinking of Sasuke?" Ino asked teasingly.

"No, actually, I was thinking of giving out all of these." Sakura said, holding up a stack of the notes that she needed to shove into guys lockers.

"Are those party invitations?" Ino asked, curious.

"No, they're rejection letters." Sakura said with a sigh.

"You got that many invites to the dance?" Hinata asked, a little wide-eyed.

"No." Sakura said. "There were more. These are just the ones I have to slip into lockers."

"Wow, that's more than last year." Ino said.

"Aren't you going to accept any of them?" TenTen asked her friend.

"If they can't ask me to my face, then I'm not going with them." Sakura said decidedly.

"Ok then." Ino said as she opened up the door, realizing that they had arrived at school.

"I'll see you guys at lunch." Sakura said as she went off to start shoving notes into lockers before classes started.

**At lunch**

"Finally, Sakura." Ino said as she rolled her eyes. Her friend had just shown up at the table after making a 'quick stop' to shove some more rejection notes in some guys' lockers. And there was only ten minutes of lunch left. Shows you how quick that was.

"Sorry, guys." Sakura said as she sat down and pulled out a sandwich from her bag. She had obviously realized she wasn't going to make the lunch line today. "I ran into some of the guys when I went and put the notes in their lockers."

"What guys?" Naruto asked, curious. "And what notes?"

"Oh, just some rejection notes replying to ones stuck in my locker." Sakura said nonchalantly.

"Rejection notes?" Naruto asked. "You replied to all of your notes? Sasuke didn't even read his." At this Naruto turned and grinned at his friend. "Isn't that right?"

"Hn." Sasuke replied.

"Well, I was brought up being told by my mother that you always respond to any note that someone writes you." Sakura said as she finished off her sandwich.

"Well, Sasuke sure wasn't taught that." Naruto said, as he started laughing.

"Hm." Sakura said as she stood up and prepared to leave.

"You're leaving already?" TenTen asked her friend. TenTen was sitting next to Neji, just as Hinata and Ino were sitting next to Naruto and Shikamaru.

"Yea, I have some more stuff to finish before class starts." Sakura said.

"More notes?" Ino asked. She'd thought that that had been the last of them.

"Checking my locker for more notes." Sakura said.

"Oh. Well, I guess we'll see you in class, then." Hinata said.

"Yea, bye." TenTen said.

"See ya, forehead." Ino said as she turned back to face TenTen and started talking to her animatedly. What Sakura didn't notice as she left was Ino texting Hinata and tenten under the table.

Ino: You guys thinking what I'm thinking?

Hinata & TenTen: Wat?

Ino: Send Sasuke after her. Ten, you tell Sasuke you 4got 2 give Sakura some notes frm class, then ask him 2 give them 2 her since you have 2 go tlk 2 a teacher, k?

TenTen: Y do I always have to be the person to actually get involved?

Ino: Do u thnk Hinata's goin 2 do it?

Hinata and TenTen: No.

Ino: C my point?

TenTen: I guess.

TenTen pulled a piece of paper out of her notebook, and quickly scribbled something on it. She signed all of their names, putting Ino's first and her own last.

"Sasuke, could you do me a favor?" Tenten asked as she turned towards him.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Can you go give this to Sakura?" TenTen asked. "I forgot to and I have to go meet with a teacher before classes start."

"Hn. Why can't they?" Sasuke asked, motioning towards Ino and Hinata.

"Because…They have to come with me, right girls?" TenTen said quickly.

Hinata nodded her head as Ino said, "Right." They both stood up to leave as TenTen handed the note to Sasuke.

"Thanks so much, Sasuke!" TenTen said as the three girls quickly made their way across the large cafeteria.

A/N: Ok, I had awful author's block, so I came up with this and typed it up…it really isn't much this chapter, but I already know what's going to happen next chapter somewhat, I've actually kind of been planning part of it since chapter one of Konoha High. Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Thanks so much, Sasuke!" TenTen said as the three girls quickly made their way across the large cafeteria.

"Hn." Sasuke said, to no one in particular.

"Looks like they want you to follow Sakura." Neji said with a slight smirk.

"No, Neji. They want him to go give the note to Sakura." Naruto said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"And the fact that I just watched TenTen write down the note after reading a text message?" Neji asked.

"She was probably texting Sakura." Naruto said.

Neji sighed. "Really? What were Hinata and Ino looking at under the table then?"

"He's right, Naruto. This is one of their crazy schemes." Shikamaru said in a lazy drawl.

Sasuke stood up and shoved his things into his backpack.

"You're actually going to bother to go?" Shikamaru asked him.

"Hn. Yea." Sasuke said as he too left the table, making his way across the cafeteria. Once he exited the room, he started off towards Sakura's locker.

**With Sakura**

"I can't believe there's more of them." Sakura groaned as she shoved tem into her backpack. She then grabbed a book that she'd need in her last class. But when she turned around, she was face to face with Rock Lee.

"Oh, hi, Lee. I didn't know that you were there." She said, a little bit taken aback.

"I'm sorry if I startled you, my beautiful blossom!" Lee exclaimed.

"Um, it's ok." Sakura said. "So, why are you here?"

"I have something that I wanted to ask you!" Lee exclaimed, striking his nice guy pose.

"Um, ok." Sakura said. "What is it?"

"Sakura, my beautiful blossom, would you go to the homecoming with me?" Lee asked.

'_Go to the homecoming…with Lee?' _Sakura thought. _'Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to go with him. After all, he is the first guy to actually ask me in person. But then, I was really hoping that Sasuke would still ask me…' _ Sakura was about to reply to his question when she heard a voice from behind her.

"She can't go with you, because she's going with me." Sakura whipped around to find Sasuke standing there.

"Oh, I'm sorry then, Sakura, for bothering you." Lee said, looking a little bit upset.

Sakura glared at Sasuke as Lee started to leave. She then said furiously, "Oh really? And when was this decided? I certainly don't remember you asking me! Maybe you should've tried that first!"

"Why would you want to go with him?" Sasuke asked. "You were just going to say no anyways."

"How do you know that? I do have a mind of my own, you know." Sakura snapped. She turned around to call after Lee. "Lee, wait a minute! I'd love to go with you!"

Lee turned around. "Really? But what about Sasuke? I thought he said-"

Sakura cut him off. "Sasuke and I were never going together, ok, Lee?"

"Alright." Lee said.

"Will you walk me to class, Lee?" Sakura asked.

"Of course I will!" Lee exclaimed as Sakura hooked her arm through his. She turned around and gave one final glare to Sasuke before letting Lee escort her to her next class. Sasuke stood there, a little bit shocked, but his eyes flashing red.

When she arrived at the door she turned to Lee. "Thanks, Lee." She smiled at him before she turned around and walked into her English classroom where her three friends immediately started questioning her. They obviously hadn't seen Lee walk her to the door.

"So, did anything happen at your locker?" Ino asked her friend expectantly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, something did. I got a date to homecoming." Sakura said.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! I'm so happy for you!" Ino squealed.

"That's awesome, Sakura!" TenTen exclaimed in the same pitch as Ino.

"Me, too, Sakura. I know how much you like Sasuke." Hinata said.

Sakura looked at her friends. "I never said my date was Sasuke."

Ino and TenTen stopped rejoicing for their friend. "Who else would it be?" Ino asked. This wasn't good.

"Rock Lee." Sakura said.

"What?!" Ino exclaimed. "But what about Sasuke, and the note…and…"

"What note?" Sakura asked her friend, not at all happy to learn that Ino had somehow been involved in this.

"Well, you see, we gave Sasuke a note, and then asked him to take it to you. That way he could ask you to homecoming. But I guess he didn't get there in time…" Ino said trailing off.

"Oh, he got there in time. In time enough to tell Rock Lee that I couldn't go to the homecoming with him because I was already his date." Sakura said, her emerald eyes flashing at the though.

"What?" Ino asked. She couldn't believe that this had happened. Now Sakura was mad at Sasuke, and was going to the dance with Rock Lee.

"You heard me, Ino." Sakura said. "I can't believe he would do that! As if we were going out or he owns me or something. If he wanted me to go with him, he should've just asked. But no, he had to get all high and mighty. 'She's going with me' he says." Sakura continued to rant on until the teacher came in. Ino just looked at TenTen and Hinata. Their plan had really messed up.

**That afternoon**

As Sakura climbed into the limo, she saw Sasuke sitting next to where she usually sat. She sat at the other end of the limo, and refused to move when her friends entered behind her, making them fill the gap between them. She faced the opposite way and wouldn't even look at Sasuke. The limo was filled with an eerie silence that no one wanted to break. Well, no one wanted to break it, that is, until Ino turned towards the girl beside her.

"Sakura, this is ridiculous. You're acting like a three year old." She said.

"So what if I am?" Sakura snapped. "I don't care. I have every right to. I don't want to be treated like I'm somebody's property and have no mind of my own!"

"But Sakura," Ino said, "this is stupid. It was a misunderstanding is all."

"Oh? And I guess I was the one who misunderstood everything!!" Sakura snapped again.

Ino sighed, "Well, if you won't listen to me, then I guess you aren't going to listen to anybody." She turned towards the others in defeat. Sakura was still too angry to be reasoned with at the moment. Luckily, today, Sakura was the first person out of the limo. When she was gone, Ino turned towards Sasuke.

"Why did you have to go and do that?" She asked.

"Hn." was Sasuke's only reply. Inside he was thinking about what a complete idiot he had been, but he wasn't going to admit that to anyone else. He hadn't thought it through. Heck, he had acted like Naruto.

"Well, you've made things a lot harder for al of us." Ino said.

"Yea, we have to deal with her tonight." TenTen said.

"I wish you hadn't of upset her, Sasuke." Hinata said quietly.

'_Why am I such an idiot?'_ rang in Sasuke's head.

A/N: Please don't kill me!! Trust me, this had to happen for the goal I want at homecoming! I've actually had this scene in my head since chapter one of Konoha high, and trust me, things will work out. Please don't flame this chapter…. . I don't like what happened much, myself, to be honest with you. But I wouldn't have put anything in if it wasn't for a good cause, ok? Well, reviews are appreciated, flames are definitely not! runs and hides behind her couch


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

'_Why am I such an idiot?'_ rang in Sasuke's head.

**With Sakura**

Sakura ran into her room and flopped down on her bed. She buried her face into her pillow as tears leaked out of her eyes.

'_Why did Sasuke have to go and do that?' _She thought, as her pillow became thoroughly soaked. _'Just when I thought things were going good, he had to go and be a jerk. And then I had to go and be an idiot. Why do I never think before I act? I mean, Rock Lee is nice and all, but I don't have any intention of becoming a couple with him. Still, there's no way I'm going with Sasuke. He never even asked me, who told him I was going to go with him? It better not have been Ino. She's so dead if she told him that. I can't believe I liked Sasuke. I knew he was a jerk, I knew how he acted, and yet, I let myself fall for him. And now I'm sitting here, beating myself up about it. Life is so unfair.' _

Sakura was still laying there when the phone rang. She just turned her head and looked at it. She waited fro the machine to answer it. When it did, she groaned as she heard the voice that came through it.

"Sakura? Listen to me, because I know you're laying there on your bed looking at your phone. You can't tell me that you aren't. You made a really big mistake, and you're acting like a child! You have to get over this! I know that you really like Sasuke, and yes, he made a mistake, but all guys do this. When are you going to come to your senses? Come on, Sakura. You really need to get over this. I'm going to call back later, and I expect you to pick up." Sakura groaned again as she rolled over to face the wall. She ended up laying there for the rest of the night, not budging to answer the phone when Ino called back, not even to go eat dinner. The next day she stayed home from school, telling her mom that she was sick. The truth was, she just didn't want to see Sasuke or Lee during class. But then, moping around wasn't helping much either. The day passed slowly, with Sakura flipping through the T.V. stations, finding nothing on at all.

'_Why do they never show anything good during the weekdays?' _Sakura thought.

'_**Because, you should be at school right now, so they don't think about teenagers during the day. All your shows come on at night.' **_Inner-Sakura said.

'_But what about those of us who are sick?' _Sakura argued back.

'_**You're not really sick, you know that right?' **_Her Inner-self said.

Sakura gave up, and ended up rolling over on her bed and falling asleep. She slept uneasily, and dreamt of school, and her friends, but in her dream, everyone was turning against her. It skipped to the homecoming, and everything was going horribly wrong. She was there, but no one could see her, or hear her. She saw Sasuke dancing with that girl Sarah, and she even saw Lee with another girl. She tried desperately to get her friends attention, but no one even looked her way. Sakura woke up when her mother came into her room and told her that someone had come to see her.

Sakura's heart jumped into her throat, as she thought of who it could be. _'Sasuke? Maybe he came to apologize! No, it can't be him, what am I thinking?' _Sakura told herself this, but she couldn't help being disappointed when she saw Lee walk into her room, carrying some papers that she assumed were her homework. 

"Sakura, how are you feeling today?" Lee exclaimed more than asked.

"Good." She replied.

"That is good! Then you'll be able to go to school tomorrow." Lee said happily. "I have brought you your homework so that you might be prepared for classes tomorrow!"

"Thanks, Lee." Sakura said. "Could you put them on my desk over there?"

"Yes, I can. And I also wanted to say congratulations, because Gai-sensei gave me your test to give to you! You scored a perfect hundred!" Lee said as he placed her papers on her desk.

"Oh. That's great…" Sakura said, thinking of her time spent studying for it.

"Well, Sakura, I will leave you to get some rest so you will look your best for tomorrow's school day! I will see you then!" Lee said.

"Ok. Thanks so much for bringing me my homework, Lee." Sakura said as he left.

"It is my honor!" Lee exclaimed. Sakura sighed when he left and got up to go look at the work he had brought her. She hadn't had someone do his for her since she was in seventh grade and they had had homework buddies who recorded what you missed on a special sheet that said "Absent" at the top. Their teacher had thought it was the best way to let them know what they had missed, and even though it was a pain, it did work. Ino had been her homework buddy. She actually kind of missed those days. She'd gone to a small middle school where your class was like your family. Everyone knew everything, since there were only about thirty kids in every grade.

'_Enough time reminiscing. I need to get caught up. Missing school is not fun once you get your homework.' _Sakura thought as she sat down and started following the directions that Lee had given her.

The next day, Sakura went back to school, the guilt of not really being sick getting to her. She went on ignoring Sasuke, and spending time with Lee. All of her friends tried to convince her to forgive Sasuke, but Sakura was adamant. She was not some kind of possession whose decisions were made for her. The next week passed swiftly, along with the following week. Sakura gradually started saying one word sentences to Sasuke, but that was about all the girls could get her to say. Soon, the night before homecoming was upon them, and the girls found themselves in Ino's bedroom, chattering excitedly about the next day. They had hair appointments, and they were getting their nails done as well. Their dresses were hanging in Ino's closet, since they were just going to change where they were. They saw no point in going home and meeting up again later.

A/N: Ok, lame chapter after the drama in the last one, but I didn't want to skip straight to the homecoming. So now there's this chapter and probably the next one in between all of it. I promise the next chapter will be better. Reviews are much appreciated! Also, I'd like you guys to go check out my online bro (part of my FAC family) rffraff05's story Naruto: One Year of Training. It's awesome! 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Soon, the night before homecoming was upon them, and the girls found themselves in Ino's bedroom, chattering excitedly about the next day. They had hair appointments, and they were getting their nails done as well. Their dresses were hanging in Ino's closet, since they were just going to change where they were. They saw no point in going home and meeting up again later.

"So, what time do I need to set the alarm for?" Ino asked as she faced her clock.

"Maybe nine thirty? Our appointments are at ten thirty for our nails." Hinata said.

"Make that nine o' clock." Sakura said.

"Well, if you're getting up then, just wake me up at nine thirty. I don't need the extra half hour, and I'm not waking up for no reason." TenTen said.

"Fine." Ino said. "It's set for nine o'clock. Happy, guys?"

"Yes." Sakura said with a sigh. She had won this one for once. If only because ino knew that she would need the fifteen minutes as well.

"So, Sakura, what's going on with you and Lee?" Ino asked as she flipped over to face her friends.

"We're just friends who are going to Homecoming together." Sakura replied.

"And he thinks?" TenTen asked.

"What do you mean, 'he thinks'?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura, Lee really likes you. I don't think he thinks you guys are going as just friends." Hinata said.

"What?" Sakura asked, astounded. This was the first time she had taken this into consideration.

"He thinks that you really like him." Ino said.

"Why would he think that?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, I don't know." Ino said. "Maybe because you shot down Sasuke and then said you'd go with him?"

Sakura just looked at her friends. She hadn't thought about that. All she had thought about was doing the opposite of what Sasuke wanted her to do. And she hadn't thought at all of how Lee might have taken it. But it was to late to change that now.

"Sakura, you need to think before you act." TenTen said with a sigh.

"Maybe, but then life wouldn't be any fun." Sakura said as she rolled over, facing away from her friends, the sign that she was going to sleep now.

The next morning Ino's alarm went off bright and early, signaling the girls that they needed to get moving. Sakura heard TenTen groan as she rolled over, and she rolled over herself to see who was shutting the alarm off. When she saw Ino standing by the alarm looking shocked, Sakura knew something was wrong. Ino turned towards the girls with an apologetic look on her face.

"Guys, it's 10 o'clock. I set the wrong time on the alarm. We have fifteen minutes to get ready, or we'll miss our appointments." Ino said.

"What?!" Sakura shrieked as she got up and practically ran to her bag. She started digging until she pulled out what she was going to wear, and then ran to Ino's bathroom before anyone else could. TenTen just shrugged and crawled over to her suitcase, still not fully awake. She pulled out some cute sweat-capris and a hooded short sleeved shirt, and quickly changed.

"Wake me up when it's time to go." TenTen said as she crawled back over to her sleeping bag. Ino sighed as she looked up from the drawer she was rummaging through. TenTen was always ready in a snap, that was for sure. Hinata was silently pulling out her outfit, and she stumbled towards the door in her half asleep state.

"Hinata?" Ino said, and waited until her friend looked at her. "You don't have time to wait for forehead to finish in there. She'll be there for the next fifteen minutes."

Hinata sighed as she decided that Ino was right, and started changing into her clothes outside the bathroom door, hoping that Sakura would come out soon. Unfortunately, Sakura didn't come out until fifteen minutes later exactly, just as Ino had predicted.

"Ok, let's go!" Sakura said as she made her way out the door, flip flops in hand. The girls just looked at each other. Sakura had actually gotten ready in just fifteen minutes. Ino went over and woke TenTen up again, and the girls followed Sakura downstairs, and out the front door to where the limo was waiting. When they got in, they found an impatient looking Sakura sitting on one of the seats.

"Do you guys want to make us late? Hurry up!" She exclaimed.

Ino just rolled her eyes as she sat down. Sakura was a total brat in the morning when she first woke up, and having to rush to get ready probably wasn't helping much. She then spoke to the driver, "We have nail appointments in fifteen minutes, floor it!"

"Yes, Miss." The driver said as he listened to Ino's instructions. The girls were there in ten minutes, when the drive normally would've taken twenty. Ino got out of the car, her legs feeling kind of wobbly. She hadn't known her limo could go that fast. But now she did. And now they were right on time for their appointments. The four girls walked into the salon, and Ino walked up to the counter, letting them know that they were here. They were immediately ushered to the back for their appointments.

The girls each selected a different polish with a different design. Hinata selected a blue polish that matched the color of the glitter flowers on her dress. She then chose deeper blue stones that would go in the center of each of her fingers, and in a circular shape on her big toes. Sakura selected a crimson that matched her dress perfectly. She chose a white glitter flower pattern to go on her big toes, and middle fingers. TenTen chose a beautiful pearly white nail polish, and green rhinestones that matched her dress exactly. She would have them in the center of each of her fingers, and in the shapes of flowers on her big toes. Ino selected a light pink nail polish that matched the glitter, and purple rhinestones that were the same shade as her dress. They'd go on the center of her fingers, and then in a sun shape on her toes.

A/N: ok, well, I had a hard time finishing this. At the moment, I put off a project and a ton of homework to do so. But I love procrastination. Lolz. So the next chapter will most likely be their hair and make up, and maybe them leaving for the dance with their dates. The major homecoming chapter will be the chapter after that. - Reviews a re much appreciated!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

The girls each selected a different polish with a different design.

When the girls' nails were done, they headed to the hair salon. Each girl had spent weeks pouring over magazines, and uploading their photos to makeover websites to find the perfect hairstyle. Even TenTen.

Their appointments were all with different stylist, so they went back at the same time. TenTen's hair was still in buns, but each bun had small hair gems twisted into them, and pieces of hair stuck out from the center of the bun. Ino's hair was down, and it was done in loose curls, with glitter on certain strands. Sakura's hair was half up, and the part that was pulled back was fastened with a diamond-studded clip that she had been given for one of her birthdays. Her hair was done in loose curls, as well. Hinata's hair was straight, with some small curls piled onto the back of her head. It only took around an hour for the stylists to finish up with the girls, so they were soon on their way back to Ino's house. They chattered excitedly the entire way there.

"I can't believe it, only like six hours until homecoming." Ino said, her eyes sparkling. She sighed happily as she said the next part. "And it's my first dance with Shikamaru."

"Same with me and Naruto." Hinata said.

"Neji and I aren't going out, but still." TenTen said.

"It's going to be so much fun!" Ino exclaimed. Then she turned to Sakura who was currently staring out the window, lost in her own world. She shook her head at her friend then turned to TenTen with a glint in her eyes.

"Well, I heard that Sara girl is trying to go with Sasuke. She asked him a bunch of times but he said no." Ino said. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see that Sakura was looking intently at Ino now.

"Really?" TenTen asked.

"Yup. But she's not giving up. She said she has some big plan for during the dance." Ino said.

"I wonder what she's planning?" Hinata asked.

"No one knows, but she thinks it's going to work." Ino said. "What do you think, Sakura?"

Sakura turned away from her friend promptly and went "Hmph."

Ino just sighed. It was exactly what she had expected. Her friend still liked Sasuke.

The girls went home, and shortly left again to go to school, so that they could decorate the gym. They had to be extra careful not to ruin their hair or nails, which was hard, but they figured they could do it, still.

"Do you have it, Sakura?" Ino yelled from across the gym. She was on top of a ladder in the corner, fixing one end of a strand of lights in the corner. TenTen was holding the ladder steady.

"Almost." Sakura yelled back. She was struggling to fixate her end of the strand of lights in the corner. She too was a top a ladder, with Hinata holding it steady for her.

Around the gym, other girls were putting up giant pieces of black paper cut out to look like the outline of a city. Christmas lights poked through where windows would have been. It had been Sakura's idea to do that, and it looked great. The Bleachers had been pulled up, so that they were fitted neatly against the wall, providing the perfect place to put a giant Eiffel Tower in front of. It was made solely out of white wire and twinkle lights, and went really well with the theme.

"Now?" Ino yelled again. She was getting tired of waiting to let go until Sakura was done. Her arms were starting to fall asleep.

"Now!" Sakura exclaimed, grabbing onto the ladder and leaning back to look at her work. She was pretty sure that it wouldn't fall again. The girls had been working for about an hour, and the last touch would be the giant disco ball hanging where the two strands of lights intersected in the middle. There would be a white light shining on it. The disco ball was a tradition at all the school dances. It was always there, no matter what the theme. All they had to do was put it up, and they would be done. Then they could all go home and finish getting ready. Ino dragged her ladder under the center, and TenTen dragged the disco ball over, ready to hand it up to Ino. Ino climbed up the ladder quickly, and held onto the ladder with one hand, as she leaned back and grabbed the disco ball from TenTen. She quickly hooked it onto the center of the two strands, and then climbed down.

"Well, girls, our work here is done. Now we'll have about three hours to get ready before we should leave my house. Let's go!" Ino said. The girls had gotten through set-up without a hair out of place or a chipped fingernail.

"All right." Sakura said. She turned to their teacher to let her know that they were leaving. "Bye, Kurenai-sensei! We'll see you at the dance!"

"Bye girls. Thanks so much for helping with set-up." Kurenai said as she waved to her pupils.

"No problem, it was fun." Ino said as she walked out the door of the gym and into the lobby, where she stood waiting for her friends. "Well, guys, we have to look our best, so lets hurry!"

The girls just laughed at Ino's impatience as they went out to their friend's limo.

**Three Hours Later **

After listening to Ino's entire I-pod twice, the girls were finally ready.

Sakura had done the girls make-up, and it looked great, as usual. She'd chosen colors that made their eyes pop, as well as colors that made their best features look outstanding. The girls made their way downstairs to the family room so that they could wait for the guys to come. They had decided to take Naruto's limo to the dance, so they figured they'd have a little bit of time to wait.

"I can't believe it, it's almost time!" Ino squealed. "Now how long before they play the first slow song?"

"First things first, Ino." TenTen said with a little laugh. "The guys have to get here."

"I guess you're right." Ino said with a little sigh.

"They should be here soon." Hinata said. "I asked Naruto to get here early."

"So what time does that mean he'll get here?" Sakura asked.

"Probably about five minutes early. I asked him to make it twenty minutes early. But I'm sure he lost something again and had to find it." Hinata said, slightly sighing at her boyfriend's forgetfulness.

"So if they're picking us up at 6:30, about 6:25." TenTen said.

"So we have about ten minutes." Ino said. Just then, to the girls' surprise, they heard the doorbell ring.

"Make that no minutes." Ino said, jumping up, and walking as fast as she could in her high heals, so that she could get to the door before the maids.

She opened it to find four boys standing there. They were Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, and Rock Lee.

"Sorry, we're about five minutes later than Hinata asked." Naruto said apologetically. "But are you guys ready to go?"

A/N: ok, I know I promised to get this up last night, but I had a field trip yesterday, and when I got home, I was pretty much ready to go to bed, and it was only 3:30… . Well, the homecoming will be the next chapter, and I like this chapter better than I liked the last one. Reviews are much appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or the Cha Cha Slide!

"Sorry, we're about five minutes later than Hinata asked." Naruto said apologetically. "But are you guys ready to go?"

"Yea, we are!" Ino exclaimed.

"Well, before we go…"Naruto said as he took his hand, which had previously been behind his back, out from behind his back, revealing a beautiful corsage. "I got this for you Hinata."

"Th-thank you, Naruto!" Hinata exclaimed, somewhat shocked that her boyfriend had even thought about this. She soon realized that he wasn't the only one, though, because Shikamaru, Neji, and even Rock Lee had gotten their dates corsages as well. The boys escorted their dates out to Naruto's limo, and Naruto even held the door open for them as they got in. When the boys slipped in, they sat down next to their dates. Rock Lee sat down to find Sakura looking down towards one end of the limo. The end where Sasuke was sitting, by himself.

"Sakura?" Lee asked.

"Huh?" Sakura said as she turned to look at him. "Oh, sorry, Lee!"

"I just wanted to say that I am very glad that you decided to come with me, and you will not be disappointed with tonight!" Lee said, half exclaimed.

"Um, thanks, Lee." Sakura said, sounding unsure.

"It is my honor, Sakura." Lee said.

Ino interrupted their conversation, "It's almost time for the first dance of the year! Aren't you guys excited?"

"Duh, Ino!" TenTen said.

"This one is going to be ten times better than last year's homecoming!" Sakura said, too.

"I agree." Hinata said happily.

"What about you boy?" Ino asked. They just kind of shrugged, so Ino elbowed Shikamaru, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Ya, Ino." He said, while everyone else laughed. They had decided to skip going out to dinner, which most couples were going to do, and get to the dance early instead. They didn't want to wait in the long line that formed while teachers checked tickets. It also allowed the girls more time to get ready, which they needed with set up and everything happening earlier that day.

"So, guys," Ino said, turning to her friends, "I heard that this year, Sarah thinks she has Homecoming princess in the bag."

"Impossible, especially since we nominated S-"TenTen started, but Ino cut her off with a glare.

Sakura looked at her friends suspiciously, "Nominated who?" Sakura asked.

"That new girl," Hinata said quickly.

"Ya, that girl Susan, you know who she is." Ino said quickly.

"Oh, ya, I know her. She's in English with me, right?" Sakura said.

"Ya, she is." Ino said.

"She might actually prove a threat to Sara. So Ino, how did you come to know all of this?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, the day that you were absent, we nominated and voted for homecoming prince and princess." She said.

"Ya, and Sara just thought that she was so popular that she had to win, but we'll find out tonight, won't we?" TenTen said. The guys were just sitting back and listening to the girls' gossip. They'd gotten quite used to it, and had learned not to put in an opinion unless they were asked for it. The girls would sometimes stop talking, as if they just realized that the guys were hearing all of this. Well, everyone except, lee, that is.

"I think that Sakura should win!" He exclaimed.

"Lee..." Sakura said, "I wasn't nominated, I can't win."

"But-" Lee started.

"She's right Lee," Ino said while glaring daggers at him, "she can't win because she wasn't nominated." She stressed the word wasn't.

Lee's eyes opened wide, "Oh! I understand!" He exclaimed.

"Understand what?" Sakura asked.

"He's finally understanding how homecoming nominations work." TenTen said. "I've been trying to explain it to him."

"Oookay." Sakura said.

"Yup." Ino said. The girls sat in silence for a few minutes, which was all it took to arrive at the school. The driver got out and opened the door for them, and the four girls stepped out, followed by their dates, then Sasuke, who had been unusually quite the whole time. Well, to Sakura, anyways. But maybe that was because she was used to him talking in her presence, and now things were kind of back to the way they were at the beginning.

The group of teens made their way to the door of the lobby, and stepped inside. There were only a few people in front of them, talking amongst themselves. They showed Kurenai their tickets, and they were allowed to walk past the table. However, they had to wait until seven exactly before the doors would open, but they would be some of the first ones in.

"I hope the decorations look good." Sakura said as she bit her bottom lip in frustration. They'd worked hard on them, and she wanted everyone to like them. She didn't want this to be as lame as last year's homecoming.

"Don't worry, Sakura!" Lee exclaimed, "I'm sure that everyone will love them!"

"Thanks, Lee." Sakura said as she smiled at him. He really was a sweet guy. She wished that he didn't think of her as more than a friend, though. After this, she wasn't going to become his girlfriend, and she didn't want to hurt him when she told him no the next time he asked.

"Only five more minutes, guys!" Ino exclaimed her blue eyes gleaming with her excitement.

"Wow, that was quick." Sakura said, coming out of her thoughts.

"Let's just hope the dance doesn't go by too fast." Ino said. Kurenai walked up to stand in front of them, with Kakashi and Gai on either sides of the door. Anko had taken over checking tickets for the moment. More teachers were already inside, and they would serve as the chaperones for the dance.

"Welcome, everyone, to the first dance of the year, Konoha High's Homecoming, City of lights! I hope you all have a good time!" Kurenai exclaimed as she opened the doors behind her and stepped aside to allow the flood of teenagers to enter the gym.

Once most of the crowd that had been waiting at the doors was in, the D.J. started playing a familiar song. Ino squeled as she recognized the upbeat music, and turned to her friends. "Come on guys, it's the Cha Cha Slide!" Every dance at Konoha High started with the Cha Cha slide. No one knows when that tradition started, but it was kept, with most students enjoying it.

"I'll sit this out, thanks." Shikamaru said in a lazy tone.

"Oh no you won't!" Ino exclaimed as she dragged him up to the front of the gym, near the smoke machine and D.J. booth. Naruto practically dragged Hinata, and Neji and Lee just followed their dates, even though the guys didn't really get as into it as the girls did.

A/N: Ok, so the dance has started! My school dances normally start off with a song like the Cha Cha slide once we're in the gym, so I thought, why shouldn't theirs? Lolz. Ok, so next chapter, a lot of things should happen. I'm not going to say what, though. You'll have to wait and see. Also, I tried to submit this yesterday, but the computer was being stupid and wouldn't let me submit any documents. Reviews are much appreciated!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Oh no you won't!" Ino exclaimed as she dragged him up to the front of the gym, near the smoke machine and D.J. booth. Naruto practically dragged Hinata, and Neji and Lee just followed their dates, even though the guys didn't really get as into it as the girls did.

After the Cha Cha Slide, the girls moved back to the center of the dance floor, with the guys following them. A new song came on, ad the girls all started dancing, singing the song at the top of their lungs. Shikamaru and Naruto stood behind Hinata and Ino, with their arms wrapped tightly around their wastes, dancing with them. Neji had his arms loosely around TenTen, and Lee had his loosely around Sakura. Sakura looked around her for an instant.

'_I wonder where Sasuke is…?'_ She thought.

"_**Forget about him right now, have a good time with Lee!" **_Inner-Sakura shouted.

'_Right…Lee…' _Sakura thought, coming back from her thoughts. She found that she had been singing the lyrics without realizing it, and was somewhat relieved that her friends wouldn't know she had been spacing out again. They'd been on her case for it a lot recently. After about 20 minutes, Sakura saw Kurenai go up to the D.J. booth and say something to him. He nodded in response, and after the song ended, he spoke into the microphone.

"I hope you ladies and gentlemen are having a great time so far tonight!" He exclaimed. He waited a few seconds until the shouts of yes and screams subsided. "Your teacher would just like me to inform you that the Homecoming Court will be announced at 10 o' clock sharp. Everyone needs to be in the gym at that time. Now, let's get this party back up, shall we?" The music picked back up almost instantly.

"Guys, I'm going to run to the bathroom really quick, ok?" Sakura almost shouted to her friends. They nodded, and Hinata decided to join her. They pushed their way through the crowd, until they came to the empty part of the gym, where it was easier to walk, and to hear. They then proceeded into the lobby, towards the bathroom.

"I'm already getting worn out." Sakura said as soon as she could hear herself talk.

"I know, but it's fun." Hinata said.

"Ya, it is." Sakura said. "I'll bet you can't wait for the slow song that you know is coming up." Sakura said with a gleam in her eye.

"Well, um…yes." Hinata said with a blush.

"The way Ino's been pestering the D.J., there should be one any minute." Sakura said as she reapplied her lip gloss. All she had really wanted to do was get away from Lee for a few minutes. He was even more energetic than Naruto tonight, and she wanted a break from dancing. Besides, her feet were starting to hurt.

"Ya, we should probably hurry up, I really don't want to miss it…"Hinata said.

As the girls were abut to walk into the gym again, Sakura stopped her friend. "What do you say we ditch our shoes?" Sakura said as she undid the straps on her heels and threw the shoes into a corner to be retrieved later. Hinata nodded and followed suit. Pretty soon, that corner would be filled with shoes, and it would be almost impossible to locate theirs.

Sakura and Hinata had estimated right, because a few minutes after they had entered the gym and found their friends in the center of everything, a slow song picked up. Naruto pulled Hinata into him, and she blushed lightly as she rested her head on his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, with his tightly around her waist. Ino and Shikamaru were dancing the same way, except Ino's head was on his shoulder. Neji held TenTen close, but not as close as the other two couples. And Lee, well, he and Sakura were dancing pretty far apart, although no disappointment showed on his face. He was just happy to be dancing with the girl he thought was the most beautiful flower in all of Konoha. Sasuke was being bugged by half of the girls there, whether they had dates or not, but he turned them all down, one after another.

After that, time started to go by quickly, even though most of them wanted the night to last forever. Pretty soon, it was ten o' clock, and as the song ended, Kurenai's voice came over the sound system.

"Are you ready to hear your Homecoming Court for 2007?" She asked. There were shouts heard from all over the gym. Things like, "Let's get started!" and "Of course!" and Yea!" were heard from various students.

"This year's freshman princess is…" Kurenai said, with a pause as she looked at the students. "Ami Yohai! And her prince is Kevin Smit!" The crowd clapped and cheered as the Prince and princess walked up to the D.J. booth to get their sashes and crowns.

"Congratulations to you two!" Kurenai exclaimed. "And now, your sophomore Prince is…Sasuke Uchiha!" The girls all started screaming, jumping up and down, causing Sasuke to get a pissed off look as he walked up. They were all hoping that they would be his princess, especially Sara. This is exactly what she had planned. With Sasuke on the ballot for prince, there was no way he wouldn't win. And she thought that there was no way that she could lose. But boy was she wrong.

"And his princess is…Sakura Haruno!" Kurenai exclaimed. Sakura looked shocked as her friends congratulated her and shoved her towards the D.J. booth. Sakura accepted her Sash, and allowed Kurenai to place the tiara on top of her head. She was too stunned to even hear the names of the rest of the court.

'_So, they didn't nominate Susan! They nominated me!' _Sakura screamed to herself.

"_**Just shut up and enjoy it, ok?" **_Inner-Sakura shouted at her.

'_I'll try.'_ Sakura said to her inner self.

"Now, if the homecoming court would take the dance floor, and dance to the next song." Kurenai announced. "Congratulations again to everyone on the court!"

Sasuke walked up to Sakura, and said, "May I have this dance?" Sakura nodded numbly as the first notes of _A Moment like This_ picked up. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"So…" Sakura said.

"So, how have things been?" Sasuke asked her.

"Good, I guess." Sakura said.

"That's good." Sasuke said as they moved slightly with the music. "Look, Sakura, we need to talk."

"What are we doing, then?" Sakura asked.

"Look, I know you're mad at me." Sasuke said. "But I just wanted to say that I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Sakura said, her heart skipping a beat as she felt his arms tighten around her waist.

"Ya, I am. For everything. I was a jerk, and an idiot. I really screwed things up." Sasuke said.

"Ya, you did." Sakura said. "But I didn't help you out any at all. I was too caught up in myself, and I couldn't get over the fact that someone wanted to make my decisions for me. That someone obviously cared that much about me…"

"Well, I did." Sasuke said.

"Did?" Sakura asked. She felt her heart sink like a stone.

"And still do. But I understand if you don't feel that way…if you never felt that way at all." Sasuke said. "You're the first girl to actually treat me like a person, and to take the time to get to know me. All the other girls just see me, then freak out, and they don't even know me."

"We've been over this before, I think." Sakura said, with a slight smile. "I know how it is."

"So…will you forgive me?" Sasuke asked.

"On one condition." Sakura said.

"What's that?" Sasuke asked.

"This." Sakura whispered as she leaned up and moved her head closer to Sasuke's. He got the picture, and leaned his head towards hers, and finally their lips met.

"Sakura…" Sasuke said.

"Yea?" Sakura said.

'Will you be my girlfriend?" Sasuke asked.

"I thought that you'd never ask." Sakura said as she buried her head in his chest, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck. Shortly after, though, the song ended. Sasuke and Sakura separated, but not before Sakura could grab her new boyfriend's hand.

A/N: Ok, so Sakura and Sasuke are finally made up! And together! Hopefully you guys liked this chapter! I don't really have much else to say about this one, so reviews are much appreciated!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Sasuke and Sakura separated, but not before Sakura could grab her new boyfriend's hand. They returned back to their friends, who had apparently been watching them the entire time.

"So, I guess my name is Susan?" Sakura said as she walked over to her friends.

"Umm…well, we couldn't tell you we nominated you! You'd probably get your name removed from the ballot, even if you'd already won." Ino said as explanation. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what's up with you two?" Ino motioned to their hands that were intertwined.

"I'm not allowed to hold my girlfriend's hand?" Sasuke asked.

"Girlfriend?!" Ino exclaimed. "When did this happen?"

"During our dance." Sakura said with a slight blush. Ino gave her a 'we'll talk about this later' look.

Sakura looked around as if realizing some thing for the first time, "Where's Lee?"

"Well, he saw you kiss Sasuke and…" Hinata started but trailed off.

"And what?" Sakura prompted her friends.

"And he ran off. He went out through the lobby." TenTen said.

"Sasuke," Sakura began.

"Just hurry back." Sasuke said, understanding that Sakura needed to talk to Lee.

As Sakura stepped outside, into the cool night air, she saw someone sitting slumped over on one of the benches in front of the parking lot. That someone was Rock Lee.

Sakura approached him slowly. "Lee, I think we need to talk." She said quietly. When he didn't respond, she slid onto the bench next to him.

"Lee?" She asked.

"Do not worry about me Sakura; it is clear that Sasuke is your knight in shining armor." Lee said dejectedly.

"Lee, I'm really sorry. I guess when I accepted your invitation to Homecoming, I didn't explain that I was accepting it as a friend. I was too caught up in what was going on." Sakura said. "I'm really sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

"…Sakura, how can I not forgive you?" Lee said. "It is clear that I thought things differently from you, I should be the one who is sorry."

"I guess we both forgive each other then, ok?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. Ok." Lee said. Sakura pulled him into a friendly hug.

"So do you want to go back into the gym now? There's still about forty minutes left of the dance." Sakura said.

"If it is ok with you, I'd rather stay out here." Lee said.

Sakura looked at him uncertainly before saying, "Ok, Lee. If that's what you really want. I guess I'll see you later, ok?" Sakura said as she stood up and walked back inside. She felt awful, but was glad that she had talked to Lee about everything. She'd have to think of some way to make it up to him.

She walked back into the lobby, and saw Sasuke waiting for her by the gym door.

"Took you long enough." He said with a smirk.

"Sorry." Sakura said. She didn't want recount her conversation with Lee to Sasuke. She'd ask her friends later how they could do something for him.

"Are you ready to go back in?" Sasuke asked her, this time him reaching for her hand. She wrapped her fingers around his as she nodded. He led her back into the gym.

"Sakura, you're back!" Ino exclaimed as she pulled away from Shikamaru for a moment. "We were talking, and we're all going to Hinata's after this, ok?"

"Sure, that sounds good." Sakura said.

"Ok then!" Ino exclaimed as she stepped back towards Shikamaru, and he wrapped his arms back around her waist. The next song came on, and many squeals and yeses could be heard from across the gym. It was Soulja Boy. Practically everyone in the gym knew the dance, although the guys wouldn't admit it. The girls, however, were back up at the front of the gym as soon as the first few notes came on, already starting to dance. They followed the beat, and didn't miss a step. The guys just stood, watching them from behind. They were somewhat glad that they hadn't been dragged up there to do this dance as well. When the song ended, the girls came back giggling and chatting excitedly about the song, and the dance. They all went back to their boyfriend's, or date in TenTen's case, arms.

The rest of the dance flew by, and soon it was time for the last song. It was the most awaited song, but also the most dreaded. Sasuke walked up to Sakura and wrapped his arms around her waist. Hers immediately flew up to his neck. Sakura felt as if she never wanted this dance to end, and she also felt like she and Sasuke were the only two people in the entire gym. She lost all track of time, and all she knew was the person whose chest her head was laying on. Sasuke felt the same way.

Ino rested her head on Shikamaru's shoulder, and he gazed down at the blonde head that was resting there and smiled, pulling her closer to him. She just smiled.

Hinata's head was resting on Naruto's chest, and her eyes were shut tight. She never wanted this moment to end. Naruto rested his chin on her head, and shut his eyes as well. They looked like they were in heaven.

TenTen and Neji were dancing somewhat away from each other. Her arms were tightly wrapped around his neck, and his were firmly around her waist. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. It was obvious that they'd be a couple soon, even if it wasn't obvious to them.

When the song ended, each couple parted slowly, wishing that it wasn't over. Sasuke grabbed Sakura's hand, as did the other boys to the girls they were with, and they headed towards the throng of people who were exiting the gym. Sakura stopped when they entered the lobby.

"We have to go grab our shoes." Sakura said as she grabbed Hinata's hand and dragged her over to the shoe pile. Of course theirs just had to be on the bottom. TenTen and Ino who had taken theirs off later on had an easy time finding theirs. Once Sakura and Hinata had extracted their shoes from the pile they slipped them on and walked back over to where the guys were leaning against the window.

"Are you ready to go?" Sasuke asked them.

"Ya, I'm exhausted." Sakura said with a slight sigh.

"Come on then." Sasuke said, grabbing her hand. With that, the four couples exited the lobby and made their ways to the limo.

A/N: Ok, I ran out of ideas for during the dance, so I just had it end really quickly, sorry about that. And to the people who have been wondering if I'm going to continue this once homecoming is over, yes, I will. I'm going to continue it until I run out of ideas, then I'll probably add another one to the series. - Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Come on then." Sasuke said, grabbing her hand. With that, the four couples exited the lobby and made their ways to the limo.

Sakura snuggled up close to Sasuke when she sat down in the limo. She was so tired she was falling asleep. The events of the night had really worn her out, and even now they replayed in her mind like a movie. She didn't even try to think of how things could have worked out better, so she just shut her mind off and enjoyed the warmth coming from Sasuke's body. His arm was around her waist, pulling her as close to him as possible.

Ino looked over at her friend and smiled as she leaned back into Shikamaru's arm, which was tightly held around her shoulder. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed slightly, so that it was barely audible, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Hinata couldn't even see her friends who were around her. All she knew was her and Naruto, who was currently whispering sweetly into her ear. She blushed as he did so, enjoying it very much.

TenTen's head was on Neji's shoulder, and his arm was draped lightly on hers. She was extremely happy, and thought that the only thing that could make her any happier would be having Neji finally ask her out. But she knew him, and knew that he wasn't a spontaneous person. He probably had everything mapped out in his head, and he was going step by step or something. She sighed the thought off and went back to being content.

**At Hinata's House**

The boys had walked the girls to the door, and had come inside for a few minutes, but were scared off eventually when Hinata's father came downstairs. Well, everyone except Neji was scared off that is. He stayed a little bit longer, talking with TenTen a little bit away from the other girls. They had all changed into their pajamas by then, Neji leaving the room to allow them to do so.

Ino glanced over at them. "What do you think they're talking about?" She whispered to Hinata and Sakura.

"Ino, that's not any of our business." Hinata said back.

"Oh, come on, Hinata, I know you want to know." Ino said, rolling her eyes. "What do you think, Sakura?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Sakura said.

"He needs to ask her out soon." Ino said as she popped a Hershey's kiss into her mouth, savoring the sweet chocolate.

'I agree with you there." Sakura said, then she turned to face Ino, with a gleam in her eye. "I know! Let's help them out a little bit!"

"I don't like the sound of this…"Hinata said, glancing at her cousin and best friend.

"Oh, come on, Hinata!" Sakura whisper exclaimed, "We helped you and Naruto out and everything turned out fine!"

"She's right, you know." Ino said, and Hinata couldn't deny it.

"Just promise that you aren't planning anything drastic, ok?" Hinata asked her friends.

"Ok, nothing too drastic. But let's not have TenTen find out before they're together. She really would kill us." Sakura said. "Actually, she might just kill us even when they're together…"

"Ok, so let's start planning then." Ino said. Sakura nodded in agreement, and Hinata just sighed in defeat. At least they wouldn't do anything too drastic. Then again, drastic to Ino and Sakura was completely different from drastic to Hinata. By the time Neji had left, the girls had a small plan all cooked up for the couple.

"Ok, what are you two planning?" TenTen said as she came over to her friends after Neji had left.

"What are you talking about?" Ino asked with an innocent look on her face.

"Ino, I've known you for too long, don't try to pull something over on me, ok?" TenTen said. She then turned to Sakura. "What is it?"

"We still don't get what you're talking about." Sakura said, making her face look totally clueless.

"That's bull, but I'm just going to ignore it for now. I'll figure it out eventually. And no, I'm not going to question Hinata, whatever it is, I'm not quite sure if I actually do want to know." TenTen said.

"Alright, then let's change the topic." Sakura said. "I feel really bad about what happened with Lee, and I want to do something for him. Like maybe get him a date to the movies or something. Do you guys know anyone who might be interested?"

"Well, there are a few girls who kind of like him, but I'm not sure if they'd be good candidates." TenTen said thoughtfully.

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, Forehead, even though Rock Lee was, and possibly still is, your biggest fan boy, doesn't mean he didn't have a few fan girls of his own." Ino said.

"I know that, Pig!" Sakura snapped at her friend.

"Well, Sor-ry!" Ino snapped back. The tow girls glared at each other and turned their backs to face the other, so they were basically sitting back to back with their arms crossed over their chests.

TenTen and Hinata ignored them and continued pondering the problem.

"What about that girl Susan?" Hinata suggested. "She does seem nice."

TenTen shook her head. "I've seen her hanging around with Sasuke's fan girls. There's no way she'd go on a date with Lee, no matter how nice she is."

"Ok, so she's a no." Hinata said softly as she went back to thinking.

"What about that girl Emily?" TenTen asked.

"Way too annoying. Can you imagine her and Lee together?" Sakura asked. She and Ino had rejoined the conversation.

"Ya, they'd be trying to talk over each other, with Lee screaming about youth." Ino said.

"Ok, so she's a no, too." TenTen said.

"This is going to be harder than I thought." Sakura said with a sigh as she fell back onto her pillow.

"Oh!" Hinata said suddenly.

"What is it?" Sakura asked, rolling over onto her stomach and propping her head up on her elbows.

"Well, I have a cousin who might be interested." Hinata said.

"Really?" Ino said. "Who?"

"My cousin Akane. She's Neji's sister." Hinata said.

"Neji has a sister?" The other three girls exclaimed, shocked.

"Where has she been all of this time?" TenTen asked her friend.

"She goes to a special boarding school. I think Neji went there for about a year, but he didn't like it and he left. She's coming for a visit this weekend." Hinata explained. "She saw a picture of Lee with the guys once, and said she thought he was cute."

"I think we have a candidate!" Ino exclaimed.

A/N: Ok, sorry about this chapter. I just finished typing it, and some people have been telling me that the characters aren't really acting like themselves, so I'm trying to have some slower chapters and get them back into character. I'd like to thank I'd like to thank AnimeAngel87 from FAC for letting me use her OC Akane. You'll learn more Akane in later chapters. Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"I think we have a candidate!" Ino exclaimed.

"So, Hinata, how old is she?" TenTen asked her friend.

"She's a year younger than us, meaning that she's a freshman." Hinata said.

"I honestly don't think Lee will mind." Sakura said.

"Ya, he'd be happy to just get a date." Ino said.

"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed. "Lee's a really nice guy!"

"Alright, alright, sheesh." Ino said.

"Do you think she'd agree to it?" TenTen asked.

"I think so, but let me check." Hinata said. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number, then pt it to her ear.

"Akane? Is that you?" Hinata asked. "Ok. How have you been? That's good. I've been good too. Well, listen, I called to ask you a question about your visit this coming weekend. Do you remember that guy Rock Lee? Yes, he's the one from the picture. Well, we wanted to know if we could try to set you up with him. He actually doesn't know about it yet. We were thinking we could say you wanted someone to show you around while you were back in town for the weekend. Ok, sounds good. Bye. See you this weekend."

"So?" Ino asked expectantly.

"She said she'd love to. All we need to do is get Lee to agree to it." Hinata said.

"This is great!" Sakura exclaimed. "I'm so glad I can do something. I've felt so bad about everything that happened between us. And he was so good about it, too."

"Ok, so who's going to ask him?" Hinata asked her friends.

"I guess I will." Sakura said when all of her friends looked at her.

"Well, it was your idea." TenTen pointed out.

"Ya. I just feel weird asking him to do something with another girl, after I did all that to him." Sakura said.

"But he'll know that you really are sorry." Hinata said.

"Ya, I guess you're right. I'll call him tomorrow, ok?" Sakura asked her friends.

"Perfect." They replied in unison, and then erupted into giggles.

"Alright." Sakura said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep. Exhaustion has won out. I'm going to be so dead tomorrow."

"But we all will be. Isn't being sleep deprived the day after homecoming one of the best things?" Ino asked in a kidding manner.

"Of course." Sakura said as she crawled into her sleeping bag. "Now good night."

"Good Night." Ino replied back in a syrupy sweet tone. Once Sakura had fallen asleep, Ino turned to her friends.

"Watch this." Ino said as she leaned over towards Sakura. "Sakura, where's Sasuke?"

"Sasuke?" Sakura mumbled.

"Yes, Sasuke." Ino whispered into her ear.

"Where…Sasuke?" Sakura mumbled. "Sasuke?" Sakura rolled over in her sleep, mumbling a few things that the girls couldn't understand. Finally she mumbled, "Ah, Sasuke…I love you too…"

The girls giggled at their friends sleep talking.

"When'd you figure that out?" TenTen asked Ino.

"Seventh grade." Ino replied. "You just whisper something in her ear, and she starts dreaming about it. She'll sleep talk, too."

"Really? Let me try!" TenTen said happily as she crawled over to her friend.

"Sakura, look at the stars." TenTen whispered into her friend's ear.

"Stars?" Sakura's brow wrinkled in her sleep, leaving the girls guessing that the setting of her dream was changing. "Sasuke…they're…beautiful…"

The girls giggled again, and TenTen said, "Wow, it really does work."

"I don't think we should do it again, though." Hinata said, looking at her friend. "If she wakes up, you know she'll kill us."

"Fine, Hinata." Ino said. "But you know that she sleeps like a log."

"Yes, but on the off chance that she does wake up…" Hinata said, trailing off.

"Point." Ino said. "Well, I'm going to follow forehead's example and go to bed as well. I'll see you guys in the morning."

"'Night Ino." TenTen said.

"Good night." Hinata said quietly, not wanting to wake their already sleeping friend. TenTen waited for ten minutes until she was sure that Ino was asleep before she turned to Hinata.

"So what are they really up to?" TenTen asked her friend.

"I promised that I wouldn't tell you." Hinata said a bit nervously. She didn't like having to keep the other two girls' plan from her friend.

"Tell me this, then: Does it involve Neji and I?"' TenTen asked.

Hinata hesitated fro a moment, wondering if this would count as telling, and then quickly nodded her head.

"I thought as much. Well, as long as they don't do anything too drastic, nothing awful should happen. I'll just have to be on the lookout for them." TenTen said with a sigh. 'I guess we should be getting to sleep, too, or else those two will have us up a lot sooner than we want to be woken up."

"I agree." Hinata said.

"And don't worry, Hinata, I won't tell them that I know anything at all. I'll act like I'm still clueless and suspicious." TenTen said as she rolled over onto her side.

"Thanks, TenTen." Hinata said back warmly to her friend. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, repaying the events of the night in her head. She'd had the best time with her friends, and of course, Naruto. Her life seemed to be going perfectly for once. She wondered how long this state of happiness would last in her life and her friends' lives.

A/N: Ok, so this chapter is kind of short. I'm sorry about that. I've been writing essays and papers all day (I had a day off from school) and I haven't had a lot of time to work on this. But it does tell some of what's going to happen soon. Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

Her life seemed to be going perfectly for once. She wondered how long this state of happiness would last in her life and her friends' lives.

**The Next Day**

Lee stared up at the ceiling, his mind going over the events of the previous night. He'd really liked Sakura, and when it all came down to it, she didn't like him. He got his heart broken. Period. He'd thought that he'd finally found someone that actually liked him. Turns out he was wrong.

At least Sakura had been nice to him. In the past, most girls laughed at him when he asked them out. He should've realized that Sakura still liked Sasuke. It was obvious that her answer to the dance had been something just to tick him off. And it had worked. Sasuke had been majorly pissed. But Sakura hadn't realized how much he had liked her. Their views had been completely different. And seeing her kiss Sasuke during that dance, it had hurt. It had hurt a lot to find out that way. At least she knew that he had been upset. Shed apologized, tried to make things better. He let her think that everything was alright. It really wasn't.

Lee rolled over and looked at the clock. It was already 12 in the afternoon. He'd been just laying there for some time. Just as he was about to get up, his cell phone went off.

'_Who would be calling me now?'_ Lee wondered as he picked up the phone and looked at the screen. The name that leered up at him was Sakura's. He contemplated not answering it for a minute, but decided against it. There had to be a good reason for her to call him. "Hello?"

"Lee?" Sakura's voice came through loud and clear.

"Yes?" Lee replied.

"It's Sakura. How are you doing?" She asked him.

"Good." He replied, lying through his teeth.

"That's good. I was calling to ask you something." Sakura said.

"Ok. What is it?" Lee asked, somewhat curious now.

"Well, Hinata has this cousin who's coming into town this weekend. She used to live around here. Maybe you'd know her, she's Neji's little sister, and her name is Akane. She goes to a boarding school now. Well, anyways, she's coming into town this weekend, we were hoping you'd show her around. We would do it ourselves, but we already have plans made." Sakura explained.

"You want me to show her around?" Lee asked. He wondered why they wanted him to do it. Why couldn't Neji show his little sister around? They probably were all going out together or something.

"Yes, if you could." Sakura replied.

"Well, ok, if you want me too…" Lee said trailing off. He wasn't so sure about this.

"Ok, great!" Sakura exclaimed. "How about you pick her up around 12 next Saturday?"

"Sure." Lee said.

'Thanks so much!" Sakura said. "Well, I'll see you later, lee. Bye!"

"Bye." Lee said as he heard the phone click off. _'What's this all about…?'_

**With the Girls**

All three of the girls were huddled around Sakura, trying to listen to her conversation with Lee. As soon as she hung up the phone, they looked at her eagerly.

"Sooo?" Ino asked.

"He said he'd show her around." Sakura said with a triumphant little smile.

"Really?" Hinata asked.

"This is going to work out great!" TenTen exclaimed.

"If he ends up liking her." Sakura said.

"I thought it was just going to be one date?" Hinata asked, uncertainly.

"Well, I think this could turn out to be more." Sakura said, and Ino nodded, both of them having that gleam in their eyes.

"Let's just get them both through this one day." TenTen said.

"Um, ok. We just have one little problem." Hinata said.

"What?" Sakura asked, turning her attentions to her friend.

"Well, you know how protective Neji is of me?" Hinata asked her friends.

"Mmhm." Ino said as she nodded.

"Well, imagine how he is with his sister." Hinata said.

"Oh…this is going to be a problem." Sakura said, realizing how protective Neji was with Akane.

"Right." Hinata said. "All we have to do is keep him busy all day, so he doesn't find out. And at least, keep him away from Lee and Akane."

Ino got a look in her eye, and turned to TenTen. "I know exactly how we can do that."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" TenTen asked, somewhat afraid of her friend at the moment.

"You can ask Neji on a date!" Sakura exclaimed, having realized what Ino was thinking.

"What?" TenTen exclaimed more than asked.

"They're right, TenTen." Hinata said. "It's probably one of the only ways we can keep him busy long enough."

TenTen looked at her friends begging faces. "Fine. I'll ask him out."

"Yay!" Sakura and Ino exclaimed at the same time, while Hinata was thinking, _'And they're already killing two birds with one stone.' _

"What am I asking him to do?" TenTen asked.

"How about…dinner and the movies?" Ino suggested. She was hoping that this would actually work. It hadn't been part of their plan, but when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.

"Fine. I'll ask him later, ok?" TenTen asked with a sigh, sure, she like him, but she didn't want to be the one doing the asking.

"Ok, but we'll know if you didn't." Sakura warned her friend. "Don't think I won't ask Sasuke. And besides, if you don't, you'll ruin the entire plan."

"Ok, Ok." TenTen said. "I won't try to get out of it. I know that you and Ino will hunt me down with torches and pitchforks if I don't ask him."

"Torches and pitchforks?" Ino asked, thinking for a second, "More like blush and eye liner."

TenTen glared at her friend. So she didn't put on make-up too much, but she did put lip gloss on at the least.

"Ok, that's enough Ino." Hinata said in a quite but somewhat forceful voice. She wasn't letting them get into an argument now. TenTen and Ino's fights were nothing like Ino and Sakura's fights. TenTen could hold a grudge.

"Fine." Ino said with a giggle.

"Ok, operation Lee and Akane is a go!" Sakura said while her friends laughed.

A/N: ok, so I just finished this a few minutes ago, after I got home from my school's play. I had to sell things at the bake sale, and the play was actually quite funny. Well, not much to say on this chapter, except that I was in a mood, so it seems a little off to me… Well, reviews are very much appreciated!


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Ok, operation Lee and Akane is a go!" Sakura said while her friends laughed.

**The Next Day**

"Well, we're all going to go to class." Sakura said as she grabbed Sasuke's arm, Ino grabbing Shikamaru's, and Naruto being the one to grab Hinata's arm, totally clueless as to why they were leaving, and practically dragged them away from TenTen and Neji.

"What's that all about?" Neji asked TenTen as he walked with her to her locker.

"Umm...well…"TenTen said, trying to find the right way to say what she was thinking.

"What is it, TenTen?" Neji asked her.

"Well…I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to lunch and a movie on Saturday?" TenTen asked with a blush.

"Lunch and a movie this Saturday?" Neji asked, thinking it over. "Well, my little sister is coming back into town, but I suppose I can show her around on Sunday. Sure. What time were you thinking?"

"I was thinking maybe around 11ish." TenTen said, hoping that she and Neji would be gone before Lee got anywhere near Neji's house.

"Ok, that works for me." Neji said.

"Ok, then." TenTen said. "So, I didn't know that you had a little sister." TenTen opened her locker after having spun the combination lock.

"Hn." Neji said. "She's a year younger than me, but she goes to a boarding school."

"Really?" TenTen asked. "Why?" She had been curious as to why ever since Hinata had told her that Akane went there.

"I'm not sure, really." Neji said as he leaned up against the locker by TenTen's. "I went there for one semester a while ago, but I didn't like it at all, so I left. Akane seems to like it there, so she still goes there. We hardly see her, though."

"Oh." TenTen said. She couldn't believe that Neji was going to give up spending time with his sister just to go on a date with her. It was totally shocking. She slammed her locker shut as Neji took a step and turned to wait for her. They then made their way to homeroom.

**After School, on the Phone**

"So, did you ask him?" Sakura asked eagerly before TenTen could even say hello. She was anxious to know if her friend had kept her promise to ask him or not.

"Ya, I did." TenTen said, sounding a bit annoyed. Sakura and Ino were going to drive her up a wall with the way they were acting. They'd kept looking at her in the limo suspiciously, but hadn't said anything because the guys were there.

"Ok, good!" Ino exclaimed. She mentally high-fived Sakura, and congratulated herself on a job well done.

"What time is he going to be leaving his house?" Hinata asked, more concerned about Neji leaving on time than Sakura and Ino's plan.

"He said he's picking me up at 11, so I'm assuming 10:45ish." TenTen said.

"So he'll be out of there an hour and fifteen minutes before Lee comes to get Akane." Sakura said, doing calculations in her head on how much time they'd need to get Akane ready. They should have just enough.

"Right, now if my part of your scheme is done, I have homework that needs doing." TenTen said with a sigh.

"Wait, you're going to do your homework?" Ino asked, shocked. TenTen hadn't done her homework in over a month.

"Ya, I figure that if I keep not doing homework, my grades are going to slip by more than one letter grade. So I guess I should actually do some of it." TenTen said as way of explanation.

"Ok, then." Ino said. "I guess we'll talk to you later."

"Mhm. Bye guys." TenTen said as she hung up the phone.

"What's that about?" Ino asked her friends.

"I don't know, Ino." Hinata said. "Maybe she's upset about you guys not trusting her to do what she said she would."

"Hmm…I guess that could be it." Sakura said, sounding a bit unconvinced.

"Well, I'm going to go, too. TenTen has a point. We do have a lot of homework tonight." Hinata said a bit nervously.

"Ok, then." Ino said. "Bye."

"Bye." Hinata said as she hung up the phone.

"She knows we're up to something with her and Neji." Ino said as soon as their quiet friend had hung up the phone.

"Ya, and I bet she quizzed Hinata about it." Sakura said.

"Exactly." Ino said. "We have to stay under her radar for a little bit."

"I'm sure we can do that." Sakura said thoughtfully. "We can do little things to work on the plan. Things that TenTen won't even notice until it's too late for her to stop us."

"My thoughts exactly." Ino said. "So what's up first?"

"Well, I was thinking…"Sakura said. The girls stayed on the phone for an hour longer planning out little things that they could do.

**Saturday**

"Ok, I think that does it." Ino said as she put the final curl in TenTen's hair. Despite TenTen's refusals, Ino had managed to coax her into having her hair half up, half down. The top half would be in two small buns, the bottom half in loose curls. She was wearing dark denim jeans, with a light pink wrap-around baby doll top. Sakura had forced her out of her tennis shoes, and into a pair of black flats, which were surprisingly comfy.

"Wow." TenTen said as she looked in the mirror. She had protested when her friends had forced this outfit on her, but now she realized why they had. It looked amazing, and it was something that she wouldn't normally have picked out.

"Like it?" Sakura asked her friend. This was one of their ideas from the night before. They just had to make TenTen look stunning in different ways. Having her hair half down was one of those ways. Neji had never seen her with her hair anyway down at all. He should look twice when he saw TenTen today.

"I'm not sure Neji will recognize her." Hinata said with a smile.

"Ok, so next up. Who's going to stay with TenTen while two people head over to Neji's? Hinata has to go. She's our ticket in." Ino said.

"I'll stay with TenTen." Sakura volunteered.

"Why does someone have to stay with me again?" TenTen asked.

"So that way Neji isn't suspicious." Ino said matter-of-factly.

"But won't he be suspicious if one of you is here and not the rest?" TenTen asked.

"Just tell him that Hinata and I had to leave. Say that daddy asked me to help my mom out at one of the flower shops or something." Ino said. "And Hinata's father made her come home. That always works."

"Ok, then." TenTen said. Neji was going to find it suspicious that Ino had to work. Ino anything except shop in his mind. The excuse for Hinata was believable though. "I guess I'll see you guys later tonight, then."

"Just to double check, what time is your movie over?" Hinata asked. She was nervous that Neji would catch them helping Akane out with Lee. It was bad enough that he would have to find out sooner or later.

"It should be over around four." TenTen said. "That's plenty of time for lee and Akane to hang out."

"Ok, then." Ino said. "We're off!" She looped her arm through Hinata's, and dragged her friend out the door.

A/N: Ok, awful chapter, first off. 2nd, I'm extremely sorry for the late update! I was trying to finish up the chapter last night around 10, but my mom kicked me off the computer and let my sister have it. The next chapter should be better, because it'll be the dates. Oh, also, I know some of you have heard this before, but please go check out rfraff05's story (On Fanart-Central) it's really awesome!  Well, reviews are much appreciated!!


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Ok, then." Ino said. "We're off!" She looped her arm through Hinata's, and dragged her friend out the door.

TenTen sighed as she watched them go. "I feel bad for Akane. Ino's going way overboard today."

"Hmm...Maybe just a little bit." Sakura said. "You have to admit, though, you look great."

"Ya, I guess I do." TenTen said. "I wonder what Neji will think?"

"That you look beautiful." Sakura said without hesitation. And it was totally true. TenTen needed to wear her hair down more often. Well, half down at least.

"I hope so." TenTen muttered. She knew that her friend's were cooking up some scheme to get them together, but she wanted him to ask her without Sakura and Ino's pushing and prodding. She was wondering if it would ever happen. "How much time?"

"Ten minutes." Sakura replied after glancing at her cell phone. She could tell that her friend was nervous, and she was a little bit nervous for her. This was just about the first guy that TenTen had fallen this hard for. It would be devastating if something happened to ruin things for her friend.

"Ok." TenTen said, taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm her nerves down, if only by just a little bit. Just then, the door bell rang, sending TenTen into a frenzy.

"He's early!" Sakura and TenTen exclaimed at the same time.

"I'll get the door, ok TenTen?" Sakura asked her friend. "You calm down, and come to the stairs when I call you, ok?" TenTen only nodded in response, trying to compose herself. Sure, she and Neji hung out just about every weekend, but this was different. This was a date. This made everything different.

Sakura opened the door to find Neji standing there, in jeans and a dress shirt, which was unbuttoned and untucked, revealing the white undershirt he had on.

"Is TenTen ready?" He asked Sakura. He didn't seem nervous at all.

"Mhmm. Let me get her." Sakura said as she backed up and walked to the bottom of the stairs. She then proceeded to scream up the staircase to her friend. "TENTEN! NEJI'S HERE!"

TenTen appeared at the top of the stairs, looking totally composed, very unlike how she'd looked minutes before. Sakura snuck a look at Neji to see his reaction, and saw that his eyes were trained on TenTen as she made her descent down the stairs.

"Hey Neji." TenTen said with a small smile.

"Hi, TenTen." Neji said without taking his eyes off of her. "You look great." Sakura saw her friend's eyes light up. Coming from Neji, that meant a lot. Anyone knew that.

"Thanks." TenTen said.

"Well, you guys should go." Sakura said, ushering the two of them out the door. She was eager to join Ino and Hinata, and tell them what had happened.

"Ya, I guess we should." Neji said.

"I'll call you later, Sakura." TenTen said to her friend as she and Neji walked out the door.

"You'd better!" Sakura exclaimed happily as she watched her two friends get into the limousine. "Now to call Ino."

**With Ino, Hinata, and Akane**

"Hello?" Ino asked into her cell phone, which had just gone off, playing her ring tone of _Big Girls Don't Cry_.

"Ino? They just left." Sakura said into the phone.

"Really? And?" Ino asked expectantly.

"He couldn't stop looking at her." Sakura said triumphantly. She and Ino had really done a good job on phase one. Hopefully things would unfold quickly from here, if not, step two would soon go into action.

"Perfect." Ino said. "Now get over here and help us out."

**With Neji and TenTen**

"So, where do you feel like eating lunch, TenTen?" Neji asked her once they were in the car.

"Oh, it doesn't really matter, anywhere is fine." TenTen said happily. She was still a little bit nervous, but her hands weren't shaking as badly as they had been when she heard the doorbell ringing. She was actually starting to feel excited now. It was her first date with Neji without being around all of her friends.

"Ok, then." Neji said, as he instructed the driver to go somewhere. TenTen didn't really know place he told the driver to go, so she just sat back and wondered where it was that Neji was taking her. "I think you'll like this restaurant." He said to her as he settled back down into his seat.

"What kind of food do they have there?" TenTen asked curiously.

"You'll see when we get there." Neji replied with a slight smirk.

'_Now I really wonder where we're going.'_ TenTen thought as she looked at Neji from her seat.

**With Sakura, Ino, Hinata, and Akane **

"Hey guys." Sakura said as she walked through the doorway to Akane's room, after being directed there by the maid.

"Finally, you're here." Ino said. Sakura had said she was on her way fifteen minutes ago, and it wasn't that far from TenTen's house to Neji's house. "There's one thing that I forgot to ask, does he suspect anything?"

"Nothing at all. About either thing." Sakura said with a smile.

"That's good news for us." Ino said. "So, Akane, this is Sakura, Sakura, this is Akane." Sakura looked over and smiled at the girl who had the same eyes as Neji and Hinata, and brown hair that came to her mid-back.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you." Sakura said.

"It's nice to meet you, too." Akane said. "Thank you guys so much for helping me out today. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, in a way, you're helping me out a lot, too." Sakura said.

"Well, then, I guess we're helping each other out." Akane said with a smile.

"So, I was looking through Akane's closet, and I was thinking that she should wear…this!" Ino said as she pulled out an outfit from behind her back. It was a light yellow top with a miniskirt that came to mid-thigh. She had some fishnet leggings underneath the miniskirt, giving the outfit a bit of an edgy look to it. "Try it on, Akane!"

Akane obliged to Ino's command, and as she came out into the room, everyone just looked at her.

"It's perfect Ino." Sakura said. "She doesn't look too dressed up, or too underdressed."

"Yes, Akane, it looks wonderful on you." Hinata assured her cousin who was looking a bit skeptically down at her outfit. Ino had also found some white chunky wedge flip-flops that were white and matched the outfit perfectly.

"Now for hair and make-up!" Ino exclaimed happily as she ushered Akane into the stool in front of her vanity.

A/N: Ok, extremely sorry for the late update! Last night I had to help my sister with her science project, so that way my mom could take my friend and I shopping for our advisory's Christmas kid. So I went and did some shopping this morning (that's gonna be one happy 8 month old baby! lol) and just got home a few minutes ago. Not much really happened in this chapter except the start of Neji and TenTen's date. And to be honest, I still don't have a clue where he's taking her…I will by next Friday, though! Well, reviews are much appreciated!!


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Now for hair and make-up!" Ino exclaimed happily as she ushered Akane into the stool in front of her vanity.

When Ino was done with Akane, she looked even prettier than before. Her hair was left down, as it had been before, but a light gold eye shadow graced her eyes, and her lip gloss was a pale pink. She had a little bit of blush on her cheeks, but that was it. She looked stunning with such little make-up.

"Well?" Akane said because everyone in the room was just looking at her. Hinata couldn't believe that her little cousin could look like that. It was probably because she'd never seen Akane all dolled up. She usually wore capris and a tank.

"You look wonderful!" Hinata exclaimed, which was rare coming from her. She normally was quieter with her compliments.

"Really?" Akane said, again, shocked. She wasn't used to wearing these kind of clothes. She owned them, sure, but she would have never had the confidence to pair them together. And she hardly ever wore make-up. It just took too long to put on when she was in a hurry, which she normally was.

"Ya, it does." Sakura stood back, admiring her friend's work. They really should give makeovers for a living; they could get paid a fortune for it.

"Do you think Lee will think I look good?" Akane asked, obviously worried.

"Lee?" Ino asked. "Every guy out there will think you look good. Not as good as me, of course, but good."

"Ino!" Sakura said while rolling her eyes at her best friend. "Just ignore her, Akane. Although she is right about one thing, every guy out there will think you look good."

Akane smiled at her cousins friends. She was extremely happy. Maybe she should wear clothes like this more often. Only one way to find out, and that would be to see what Lee thought of her today. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Right on time!" Ino exclaimed as she ran to the doorway of Akane's room, peering down the hall. Shortly after, the housekeeper came up the stairs and started heading towards them.

"Akane, your friend is here." She said upon entering the doorframe.

"Thank you, I'll be there in a minute." Akane said as she took one final look in the mirror before heading downstairs to meet Lee.

**With Akane and Lee**

"Um, hi." Akane said shyly as she walked down the stairs towards Lee. "You must be Lee, right?"

"Yes, I am Lee." Lee said while not taking his eyes off of Akane. He had no idea that Neji's sister was so, well, beautiful. "You're Akane, correct?"

"Yup, that's me." Akane said with a nervous smile.

"Well, let's go, then. I have a schedule all planned out for us today." Lee said. It was true, he'd been up the night before and had planned everything out so that they'd maximize they're time of seeing Konoha. He'd also added in a movie so that Akane could see the new cinema that had been added.

"Ok, then." Akane said, taking the final steps towards Lee, and heading out the door.

**With Sakura, Ino, and Hinata**

"So, what are we going to do now?" Hinata asked her two friends.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ion asked Hinata, that gleam coming back into her eyes.

"We're going to spy on them!" Sakura exclaimed happily.

"Is that really such a good idea?" Hinata asked her friends cautiously. She knew that they were going to end up getting themselves into trouble somehow.

"Of course it is!" Ino and Sakura exclaimed in unison. Hinata sweat dropped as she followed her two friends out of the room. She had the feeling that this was going to end very badly.

**With Neji and TenTen**

"Ok, we're here." Neji said as the driver opened the door for them to get out.

"Where's here?" TenTen asked curiously. She looked at the restaurant, and noticed that it was right over a lake. She wondered what Kind of place it was.

"You'll see when we get inside." Neji explained as he took TenTen's hand and led her into the restaurant. When they got inside, TenTen looked around herself in awe. The ceiling was huge, and there were small balconies with tables at them, right next to windows so that they overlooked the lake. The place seemed kind of fancy, but TenTen didn't feel too underdressed. Leave it to Neji to take her to a nice restaurant. They walked up to waiter who was obviously waiting to seat them.

"Ah, Mr. Hyuga. You're here. You're table is right this way." The waiter said as he led Neji and TenTen towards the back of the restaurant, and towards a flight of stairs. He then proceeded to lead them up the stairs. TenTen looked around the bottom floor one last time before following Neji and the waiter up the stairs to one of the balconies.

**With Lee and Akane **

"Where are we going first, Lee?" Akane asked curiously.

"Well, I was thinking that we could go take a walk around the park. In the past few months they've been doing some remodeling and added a fountain and a hedge maze to it." Lee explained to her.

"It sounds nice." Akane said, thinking of how the park had been upon her last visit to Konoha. It had been small, and not much to marvel at. But with these new additions to it, it was probably a lot nicer than before.

**With Sakura, Hinata, and Ino **

"Do you have a visual on their car?" Ino asked into a walkie talkie.

"Ya, they're at some restaurant." Sakura replied. The girls had split up. Ino and Hinata going to spy on Akane and Lee, and Sakura going to spy on TenTen and Neji.

"You'd better wait outside, but make sure not to be seen." Ino said back to her friend.

"Roger that." Sakura said with a giggle. She was having fun using walkie talkie talk.

"Ok, Hinata. It looks like lee and Akane are heading for the park. It should be easier to spy on them right now than it is to spy on TenTen and Neji, so let's keep Sakura posted." Ino explained with a wide grin on her face.

A/N: Ok, so the dates are started! Next chapter, I'll have longer sections focusing on each couple. This chapter they were shorter just to kind of kick off the dates, really. And Ino and Sakura are already causing trouble. Lol. Well, reviews are much appreciated!!


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Ok, Hinata. It looks like Lee and Akane are heading for the park. It should be easier to spy on them right now than it is to spy on TenTen and Neji, so let's keep Sakura posted." Ino explained with a wide grin on her face.

"Whatever you say, Ino." Hinata said with a sigh. The only good thing she could get out of this at all was, well, nothing. Very few of Ino and Sakura's schemes ever worked out, and she was certain that this one would be another failure. But what could she do but go along with this one, since it involved both of her cousins?

"I was right!" Ino exclaimed, as she watched Lee's car pull to a stop in the parking lot, letting the two teenagers out. Lee's family owned smaller cars, although they still had a driver to take Lee where he wanted to go if he wanted to bring a friend with him. "Come on, let's get out!"

"Ino, wait! You have to stay hidden!" Hinata said, shooting an apologetic look to their driver as she followed her friend out of the car.

"Don't, worry, I'm way ahead of you!" Ino said, pulling out two newspapers from the tote she had with her.

"Um, Ino, won't people realize we're reading last weeks papers, not this weeks?" Hinata asked her friend as she sweat dropped.

"Hmm…I didn't think about that. Oh well, it's all we have now. Let's go!" Ino said after a moment of thinking.

**With Akane and Lee **

"Wow." Akane said as she stepped out of Lee's car. "This place is so different from the last time I was home."

"Ya, it's a lot nicer now, isn't it?" Lee asked the girl next to him. She nodded in response.

"Let's go to the hedge maze." Akane said with a little laugh. "I've always wanted to try and find my way through one of those."

"That is fine with me." Lee said. He then proceeded to lead Akane to the entrance of the maze. He took a little bow, and motioned for her to go in, while he said, "After you."

Akane smiled at Lee as she did as he instructed. "Which way do we go?" She asked, looking this way and that. There were three different paths to choose from.

"Hmm…" Lee said as he contemplated the possible route that would lead them to the end of the maze. He had never actually gone into the maze, so this was new to him as well. "How bout you decide?"

"Me?" Akane asked. "Well, let's go…this way!" She said as she grabbed Lee's hand and dragged him into the path that led off to the right. They walked a little ways before they got to the next turn, and Lee decided which way they should go. It went on like that until they came to a dead end.

"Looks like we took a wrong turn somewhere along the way." Lee commented.

"Ya think?" Akane asked him. "Hmm…I guess we just go back and take another turn."

"How do we know that we haven't taken more than one wrong turn?" Lee asked.

"We don't." Akane said. "So we just have to go back the way that we came, and take a new turn."

"But which way did we come from?" Lee asked.

"Good question." Akane said. The two stopped walking and looked at each other, trying to figure out how they were ever going to get out of the maze.

**With Neji and TenTen **

When TenTen came to the top of the stairway, she froze. The balcony that they were on wasn't inside the restaurant exactly, or outside. It was more like a glass bubble, sticking out of the side of the restaurant, over the water. The entire thing was like a big window, even the floor.

Neji looked back at TenTen and smirked. "It's ok, you can walk on it. It won't break."

TenTen nodded as she stepped on the floor, gingerly. She was surprised by how strong that it felt under her feet. She walked over to the table, and sat down across from Neji. "Do you come here a lot?" She asked. By the way the waiter had acted when he saw him, she figured he would answer yes.

"Sort of. Whenever my mom gets the urge to go on one of her 'family outings' we come here." Neji explained.

"How often is that?" TenTen asked, remembering what Neji had said about his mom not caring much about what went on in his life.

"Oh, once a month maybe." Neji replied, opening his menu.

"Wow." TenTen said. That was hardly any family time compared to what her family did. Her parents were so into her life, they had family outings once a week normally. There wasn't a set day, but her parents always figured something out with everyone's busy schedule.

"To you it may not seem like a lot, but to my mom, it's really important, even if it is just once a month. It's the only time she's actually cared about Akane and I. Although, Akane rarely comes." Neji said. Then, changing the topic, he asked, "So, do you see anything you'd like?"

"Umm…" TenTen said as she quickly scanned the menu. "I really don't know."

"Well, then, how about getting the crab cakes? They're really good here." Neji said.

"Mmm…I love crab cakes." TenTen replied with a smile. "That makes the decision for me."

**Ino, Hinata, and Sakura**

"Sakura, you there?" Ino asked into her walkie talkie.

"Where would I have gone, Ino?" Sakura asked back.

"I don't know, I was just checking." Ino replied back.

"So what's up?" Sakura asked.

"Lee and Akane just entered the hedge maze." Ino said.

"And?" Sakura asked.

"And We're waiting for them to come out." Ino replied. Wasn't that obvious?

"Well, are you guys waiting at the entrance, and at the exit?" Sakura asked her friend.

"Why would we do that?" Ino asked, sounding confused.

"Because, if they get lost, they could come out either way, Ino." Sakura said with a slight sigh. For coming up with most of their schemes, Ino could be pretty dense at times.

"I never thought of that!" Ino exclaimed, and Hinata could see that she was wide-eyed. "Well, over and out, forehead. We have some splitting up to do over here!"

"Ok, let me know when they're on the move, and I'll tell you when Neji and TenTen leave." Sakura said. By this point, Sakura had on her 'disguise.' It consisted of a hat to cover her pink hair, and a magazine to hide behind. It was also good for when she was waiting on them to move to another location, like she was now.

A/N: ok, sorry for the late update. I've been extremely busy studying for my midterms and two finals. They're all next week, so this weekend is going to be jam-packed with studying for me, along with the two Christmas parties my mom is forcing me to attend. I might not update on time next week, and I apologize in advanced for that. We only have two exams a day, and then we get to leave so that way we have more time for studying for the next days exams. Well, this chapter was ok. I don't really like it, probably because I wrote it in kind of a rush, trying to have something to put up. Well, reviews are much appreciated!!


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

By this point, Sakura had on her 'disguise.' It consisted of a hat to cover her pink hair, and a magazine to hide behind. It was also good for when she was waiting on them to move to another location, like she was now.

**With Neji and TenTen**

When the waiter came, Neji placed the order for them, and TenTen looked out over the water. There wasn't really a lot out there at this time of year, but she did see one or two boats making their way downstream. She watched them as they drifted by, looking down upon them.

"It's a great view, isn't it?" Neji asked her as he looked out the window with her.

"Mhmm." TenTen replied. "It's beautiful." They looked out over the river in silence for a few moments before Neji spoke up again.

"I think this is actually one of my favorite places." Neji said.

"Really, why is that?" TenTen asked, turning to look at him across the table from her.

"For one, it really is beautiful like you said." Neji said. "And two, its design is amazing. Third, it's where I asked this really special girl to be my girlfriend."

TenTen looked at Neji, awestruck. _'What is he talking about? Is he talking about me? No, there's no way. Does he have a girlfriend and no one ever told me? Or maybe…?' _

"TenTen, will you go out with me?" Neji asked her.

"Yes. I'd love to." TenTen said, her smile spreading from ear to ear, her shock and surprise dissolving as she felt her heart warming up.

"I'm glad." Neji said, smiling back at her, if only just a small smile. It was a lot more emotion than he'd ever let anyone see, but he felt that he could let TenTen in on that, if only just a little bit.

**With Lee and Akane**

"Lee! Be careful!" Akane screeched from her perch on top of his shoulders. They'd tried retracing their steps, but it hadn't helped much. They'd just become even more lost. In an effort to try and see their way out of the maze, Akane had gotten onto Lee's shoulders to attempt to see over the hedges. Unfortunately, Lee had been looking up at Akane and the direction that she had been pointing in, and had run straight into the hedge.

"Hehe." Lee laughed nervously as he helped Akane down from his shoulders. "I guess that idea did not work so well."

"Well, some of it did." Akane said. "The exit is over that way." She pointed off to her right. "The only problem is, I didn't get a chance to count how many turns there are fro here to there."

"It is a start at getting out of here." Lee said. "So which path do we take this time?"

"The one to our left, then a right. That's as far as I got." Akane said.

"Well, it's better than nothing." Lee said as they started walking taking the left path as they went.

"So, what are we doing after we get out of this maze?" Akane asked Lee.

"Well, I was thinking we could go get lunch, then go to a movie. They've added a new Movie Theater, and it's amazing. I figured you'd like to see it." Lee explained.

"Really?" Akane asked. "Last time I came home there was still just that tiny one."

"This one's a lot bigger." Lee said. "They show around twelve movies at one time, plus an empty theatre room."

"That is a lot bigger." Akane said as they came to the next turn and took a right. They walked in silence for a little while, enjoying the sights of rabbits scampering through the hedge, and little birds flying away when they neared.

Lee snuck a side glance at Akane a little while later. _'Neji's sister really is pretty. And she's funny, and nice too. I wonder what Neji would do to me if I asked her out on a date. Well, a real date?' _

"What are you thinking about, Lee?" Akane asked focusing on the silent boy walking next to her.

He blushed a little as he quickly said, 'Oh nothing. Why?"

"Well," Akane said, "I was just thinking about how nice this is. Walking through the maze, seeing all the nature, being with you."

'_Did she just say…?' _Lee wondered, his eyes widening slightly in amazement. Akane smiled prettily at him as they continued walking.

**With Ino, Hinata, and Sakura**

"Sakura?" Ino asked into the walkie talkie.

"Ya?" Sakura asked back.

"Anything yet?" Ino asked her.

"Ino, I told you I'd let you know when they moved locations." Sakura sighed into her walkie talkie.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm extremely bored." Ino replied back to her friend. 'Akane and Lee went in there half an hour ago, and they haven't come out yet."

"They probably got lost." Sakura said. "It is a maze after all."

"How long do you think it'll be before they get out of there?" Ino asked Sakura.

"Another half hour to an hour." Sakura replied.

"Are you serious?" Ino asked incredulously. "But all I have to read is last week's newspaper!"

"Ino, why did you bring last weeks newspaper?" Sakura asked.

"To hide Hinata and I's faces. Duh." Ino said.

"Did you think to bring a magazine?" Sakura asked. With all the magazines the two subscribed to, you'd think one of them would have brought one.

"Well, I told Hinata that I'd take care of the disguises, and then I forgot, sooo…I grabbed last week's newspapers from the pile by the back door!" Ino exclaimed with a giggle to Sakura.

"Ok, then." Sakura said. "So have you heard from Hinata?"

"Well, we separated half an hour ago." Ino said. "She didn't have a walkie talkie, so, nope, haven't heard from her."

'Ok, well, then, go find her. They'll be out within the next hour. Since they aren't out by now, they're not trying to out the way they came. You should both be near the exit. But please, stay out of sight." Sakura said, warning her friend.

"Come on, forehead, that's kind of obvious." Ino said.

"For you? You never know." Sakura said. 'Well, over and out."

"Over and Out." Ino replied, checking the entrance way one last time before going to find Hinata.

A/N: Ok, I updated as soon as I could. With exams and everything, I pretty much crashed as soon as I got home Thursday, then Friday my dad took me to get my learners permit. Today, we had to go Christmas shopping for my mom, and I just finished this up a few minutes ago. Neji finally asked TenTen to be his girlfriend. He seems a bit OOC to me, but there's nothing that could be done. His character is just…extremely hard to keep in Character when doing something like that. Well, reviews are much appreciated! Oh, and merry Christmas to everyone, and Happy Holidays to everyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas!


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Over and Out." Ino replied, checking the entrance way one last time before going to find Hinata.

**A Little While Later**

After Lee and Akane finally came out of the maze, Ino and Hinata trailed them to a nearby café where Lee had planned for them to eat lunch. After a short wait, they then followed Lee and Akane to the new movie theater.

"Sakura?" Ino asked into the walkie talkie. The girls had been giving frequent updates, and Neji and TenTen had just recently left the restaurant they had been at.

"Ya?" She asked back.

"Lee and Akane just entered the movie theater." Ino said.

Sakura's eyes widened at this. "Ino, which movie theater?"

"The new one." Ino replied nonchalantly.

"That's what I was afraid of." Sakura said, sounding, well, not so happy.

"Why?" Ino asked. She was slightly confused at her friend's reaction.

"Ino, turn around." Sakura said. Ino did as her friend told her turning around, and seeing her pink haired friend standing there with a hat on her head.

"Wait, if you're here…"Ino started.

"Then so are Neji and TenTen." Sakura finished for her friend.

"Oh no." Ino gasped. By now, they'd stopped using the walkie talkies, and all three girls were standing with each other, a little ways away from the theater doors.

"What are we going to do?" Hinata asked her two friends.

"We just have to make sure they stay away from each other. There's no way they're seeing the same movie, so it shouldn't be too hard." Sakura said. The other two girls nodded and they went their separate ways to try and figure out which movies the two couples were going to be seeing.

**With Lee and Akane**

"Which movie did you want to see, Akane?" Lee asked the girl standing next to him. She was currently examining the choices that the movie theater had at the moment.

"Well, I have been wanting to see the new National Treasure movie…" Akane said. "The first one was amazing."

"It was really good." Lee agreed with her. "That decides it. Two tickets to national Treasure: Book of Secrets, please!"

"Here you go, that'll be $15, please."

Lee handed her the money and thanked her, and then they went inside.

"Here's the money for my ticket, lee." Akane said, trying to hand him a small stack of bills.

"No, Akane, it is my pleasure to pay for your ticket." Lee said, giving Akane one of his big smiles.

"If you say so." Akane said, sounding a little unsure. She was used to paying for her movie tickets and such.

Lee smiled reassuringly at her as they got in line to get popcorn and sodas.

**With Neji and TenTen**

"What movie are we seeing, Neji?" TenTen asked her date excitedly. The movie theater was one of her favorite places to visit. Especially when there was a really good selection of movies playing.

"Well, I was thinking of the sequel to that National Treasure movie." Neji replied.

"I've been wanting to see that since the idea was first mentioned." TenTen said happily.

"You've only told me about a hundred times." Neji said with a smirk.

"Well, it's true." TenTen replied to her boyfriend.

"I know." Neji said, stepping up in line to the ticket booth. "Two to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets please."

"That'll be $15." Neji handed the girl the money, and took the tickets, handing TenTen hers. From all the time TenTen had spent with Neji, she knew better to offer him money outright. She'd leave it on the seat in the limo when he dropped her off. Neji was extremely firm in always paying for TenTen's things. The dinner he'd taken her to was one thing, but a movie ticket was another. She should pay for that.

"Do you want candy or anything?" Neji asked TenTen as they walked in.

"Can we get some popcorn?" TenTen asked hopefully.

"If you want some we can." Neji replied.

**Sakura, Ino, and Hinata**

"Ino, Neji and TenTen are heading for the snack line. And I see Akane and Lee over there." Ino looked up from the game she was pretending to be playing, and immediately went into action. She bumped into a man that was holding a giant tub of popcorn, causing him to drop his popcorn in front of TenTen and Neji; she then quickly turned around and went back to her game.

"Taken care of." Ino said into her walkie talkie.

**Neji and TenTen **

"Oh my gosh!" TenTen exclaimed as a giant container of popcorn was spilled right at her and Neji's feet. She looked to the man who had dropped it. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." He replied gruffly, clearly annoyed at having been bumped into and having dropped his popcorn.

"Ok then." TenTen said. She and Neji then walked around the wide mess of popcorn on the floor, over to the snack counter.

**Lee and Akane **

After paying for their food, Lee and Akane turned around to see a big pile of popcorn spilled across the floor. "It's a good thing our theater is this way." Akane said as she and Lee walked to the theater to find seats.

"Yes, it is." Lee said as they entered the theater and made their way down to one of the middle rows. "Let us sit here."

Akane nodded as she sat down next to Lee and started chatting quietly with him as the previews played.

**Neji and TenTen **

"That was a mess." TenTen commented as she and Neji walked to their theater after purchasing popcorn and sodas.

"Hn." was Neji's only reply as he scanned the full room for two empty seats. Luckily he found some in one of the middle rows of the crowded theater. He motioned for TenTen to follow him, and they made their way to the two seats.

A/N: ok, soo extremely sorry for the late update! My cousins were here all week, and they just left this morning. And then my mom took the computer. And used it all day long. XD And she made me go clean my room (which is only ¼ of the way clean. I'm doing major cleaning, something that's rare for me.) And I was just given the computer half an hour ago, so I typed as fast as my fingers could go. . Ok, so most of you probably know where this is going. And what can I say, I love drama. Well, reviews are much appreciated! Also, I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and that everyone has a Happy New Year!


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

"Hn." was Neji's only reply as he scanned the full room for two empty seats. Luckily he found some in one of the middle rows of the crowded theater. He motioned for TenTen to follow him, and they made their way to the two seats. As they approached the seats, Neji froze where he was. There, sitting next to the two empty seats, were none other than Rock Lee and Akane. His sister Akane.

TenTen looked at Neji, and quietly whispered to Akane, "Are these two seats taken?"

Akane turned to look at her and replied, "No, they aren't." She went to turn back to the screen, but did a double take when she realized that someone that she knew was standing slightly behind the girl that had just spoke to her, a mad looking someone. That mad looking someone just happened to be her brother. She gasped at the sight. "Um…hi, Neji."

"Akane." Neji replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, watching a movie?" Akane replied nervously. By this time, Lee was also looking at Neji, but he thought better of speaking so he kept quiet.

"You know that's not what I mean. Why are you with _him_?" Neji asked, emphasizing the word him as if Lee was something distasteful. How dare one of his friends, no matter how distant that friendship might be, take his little sister on a date! And without even speaking to him about it first.

By now, Lee spoke up. "But, Neji, I was asked to show Akane around town today, since TenTen and her friends all had plans. I thought that surely they would have told you about this." TenTen's frantically waving arms signaling Lee to stop did no good, because he was either too intent on figuring out why Neji didn't know, or he didn't understand the signal.

Neji then turned to TenTen, "You knew about this?"

"Neji…I did, but-" TenTen started but was cut off by Neji.

"I see. So this whole day, was just a distraction so that Akane could be with Lee." Neji stated.

"Neji, no! It's not like that at all!" TenTen started, trying to explain, but to no avail as he grabbed Akane's arm and yanked her out of the seat.

"We're going home." Neji said.

"But-" Akane started.

"No buts. We're leaving." Neji said, tightening his grip on his sister's arm.

"No, I'm not!" Akane exclaimed, struggling against the pull of Neji's grip. "Let go of me! Mom told me I could go out with Lee today, so I intend to stay out with him. You can't stop me!" With that, she slapped his hand, hard, trying to force him to let go.

A look of shock washed over Neji's face, but it was soon replaced by anger. He let go of Akane's arm, but pushed it away roughly as he did so. "Fine." With that he, turned and left the theater. He didn't even give as much as a glance towards TenTen.

**Ino, Sakura, and Hinata**

"How long is the movie they're seeing, exactly?" Sakura asked Ino and Hinata after a few minutes.

"I'm not sure. They went to see the National Treasure movie." Ino said.

"What?! That's the movie Neji and TenTen are seeing!" Sakura exclaimed. All three girls looked at each other with wide-eyes.

"We have a problem." Ino said.

"Ya think?" Sakura asked her. "Come on, we have to…" She trailed off as she saw Neji leave the theater, and head to the door.

"I think we're a little too late." Hinata said quietly.

"Oh no." Sakura said. As if on cue, her cell phone started to ring. She picked it up and glanced at the screen, seeing the picture of TenTen pop up. "It's TenTen." she said as she opened the phone.

"Hello?"

"Sakura?" TenTen asked her friend.

"Ya?"

"Can you guys come get me from the movie theater?"

"Um, sure, just come out into the lobby. We'll be waiting for you there."

"Ok, thanks."

"Guys, she wants us to pick her up. Can you send your car home, and we'll just take mine?" Sakura asked them. Hinata nodded.

"Who's house?" Sakura asked as she looked towards the door. TenTen was taking a while, but then again, she had no idea that they were already here. Which was something they didn't want her to know, but Sakura had the feeling that they would have to tell her.

"Mine." Hinata said. "That's where Akane will go." Sakura nodded absentmindedly. After about five more minutes, TenTen walked out of the theater. Her face look a little surprised to see her friends already there, but she didn't question it.

"Hey guys, we can leave now. I was talking to Akane and Lee." TenTen explained.

"Ok." Sakura said. No one asked about what had happened. If TenTen felt like explaining she would do so in the car.

When the girls were in the car, TenTen was staring out the window when she said, "He knows the date was a distraction."

"It's ok, TenTen." Sakura said to her friend. Something else had to be bugging TenTen, because she'd been extremely quiet.

"No it's not." TenTen said, turning to look at her friends. Her eyes looked like they threatened to shed tears, something that the girls had only seen her do a few times in her life. Even when she'd broken her, arm, she hadn't cried at all. "He asked me out when we were at the restaurant, right before we ate, but then…when he left the theater, he wouldn't even look at me. He thinks I don't even care about him at all. He thinks everything today was done o that Akane could be with Lee without his knowing. He thinks today meant nothing to me." She then turned to look back out the window, but the girls saw her rub her eyes for a second, wiping away the tears that sat in her eyes, refusing to fall.

A/N: Drama! Lol. I love writing drama. It's so much fun. Hopefully everything will work out ok. . . I felt like there hasn't been enough drama lately, so ya, that pretty much explains it. Well, reviews are much appreciated!


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

She then turned to look back out the window, but the girls saw her rub her eyes for a second, wiping away the tears that sat in her eyes, refusing to fall.

The girls had decided to spend the night at Hinata's house, phoning their parents and getting the ok, and then going to their little set of drawers in Hinata's closet on the floor. Each girl had one at all the others houses for last minute sleepovers and such. They had clothes, pajamas, shoes, the whole nine yards. You really did never know when you might need them. TenTen had gone to take a shower, so the three other girls sat on the floor in a circle.

"What do you think happened to Akane and Lee?" Ino asked Hinata.

"I really don't know. I'm guessing she wouldn't listen to Neji, so she ended up staying. I don't think she'll go home tonight, though. She'll most likely come here." Hinata explained. "We won't know what actually happened until TenTen decides to tell us that part, or Akane gets here. Whichever happens first."

Sakura nodded. "She's really upset. I think she thinks he wants nothing to do with her. But I think he's just mad. Does he honestly think that she would have said yes if she didn't want to be with him?"

"It's Neji, Sakura." Ino said. "No one knows what he thinks."

"True." Sakura said with a sigh. "Ino, this is our fault. We have to fix it."

"I know, but how?" Ino asked. Both girls turned to Hinata.

"I said I wasn't getting involved anymore…" Hinata said, trailing off under her friends stares. "Fine."

"Operation get Neji and TenTen back together is a go!" Sakura said.

"How hard can it be?" Ino asked the girls.

"I'm not sure." Hinata said. To her, this was probably going to end up under Ino and Sakura's failed operations tally, which was swiftly growing, but there wasn't much she could do to stop them, yet again.

"First off, we should talk to Neji. But we can't give away either of the plans. We need a plan to approach him, and someone who would be least suspicious." Sakura said, turning her meaningful gaze upon Hinata.

"Ok, but I'm choosing the dialogue." Hinata said, a bit firmly for her. She didn't feel like having her cousin angrier than he probably already was with her.

"Fine." Sakura said, a bit disappointed, but giving in knowing that her friend was the only one who could do the job properly, prying without causing too much suspicion by Neji as to what the girls were trying to do.

"What's fine?" Someone behind them asked. They all three turned around to find Akane standing there.

"I thought you would come here." Hinata said, as she got up to hug her cousin.

Akane hugged her back and replied, "I couldn't go him with Neji being the way he is. Why can't he just be a normal sibling and leave my life alone?"

"Because he cares about you, Akane." Sakura said. "We've seen him be protective over Hinata all too much."

"Ya, I know, still, though. I can't even go out on a date without his 'permission.'" Akane said with a huff, putting air-quotes around permission, growing a bit angrier that her brother tried to control her life. Then she mused, "I wonder what he would do if I brought home a total bad boy. Hmm… motorcycle and all?"

Ino laughed as she pictured Neji's outraged face, and Hinata just said, "Akane, please don't push things with him right now. You're going to have to go home sooner or later, and do you really want him in an even worse mood?"

Akane sighed, "Not really." She got up and walked over to Hinata's bed, dropping stomach down onto it, burying her face into her pillow. Right now, she just wanted to sleep, and forget everything. But she was no idiot. She could feel the looks of the three girls boring into the back of her head, which was propped up on her hands at the moment."I know you guys want to know what happened, so I'll tell you if you agree to stop staring at me and let me sleep." Akane said, flipping around so that she was looking at the girls.

"Deal." Ino and Sakura said in unison, while Hinata just nodded.

"Ok, well, Lee had taken me to the park, and we went through the hedge maze, with some difficulty. After we were finally out, we went to a small café, and then headed to the movie theater. As you guys probably already know, we went to see the new National Treasure Movie. Well, Lee and I had just sat down in a middle row with about four open seats. We were chatting and watching the previews, when I heard someone ask me if the seats next to me were taken. I turned my head to say no, but as I was turning back, I saw Neji standing by her. He got really mad, and I thought that he might try to kill Lee, but he just asked me why I was there…and after that short conversation, he grabbed my arm, tried to drag me to the car, and I refused, saying that I was staying. He stalked out, leaving your friend TenTen extremely upset. Apparently, he'd just asked her out during their dinner at some restaurant, and he'd said some things to her, too. And, Hinata, you know Neji, when he makes up his mind…well; it's kind of hard to change it."

"He grabbed your arm?" Hinata asked, sounding slightly worried. "That doesn't sound like Neji."

"Well, it was." Akane replied, as she flipped back over on the bed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to sleep." To the surprise of the girls, she fell asleep almost instantly, and a few moments later, TenTen entered the room.

"I see Akane showed up." She said as she sat down in the small circle the other girls were currently sitting in.

Hinata nodded, and said, "She told us what happened."

"Ya, well, what can I say?" TenTen replied. "I fell in love with a stubborn boy. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to join Akane in the land of slumber." With that, she sank down into her sleeping bag, which she had been sleeping on, and laid down, not falling asleep as quickly a Akane, but in a short amount of time.

The other three girls just watched their friend, knowing that she was still extremely upset.

A/N: Ok, bad chapter, I know. But I thought Akane should be the one to tell them how everything went. And Sakura and Ino are, yet again, scheming. Lol. Well, I don't really have much else to say, except that reviews are much appreciated!!


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!

A/N: I don't normally add an author's note to the beginning of the story, but I wanted to give everyone a heads up that this is the last chapter of Konoha High: The Homecoming. I'm hoping to put the next story in my series up soon.

The other three girls just watched their friend, knowing that she was still extremely upset.

**Monday, In the Limo**

"Ok, so will you guys help us?" Sakura asked, looking at the boys who were sitting around her.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru said, but after Ino elbowed him, he added, "But yes, I'll help."

"Of course I'll help, believe it!" Naruto replied. Hinata smiled at her boyfriend's enthusiasm.

"Hn. I guess." Sasuke replied, not looking too happy about interfering in his friends' lives. Their problems were their problems, his problems were his problems.

"Thanks so much you guys!" Sakura exclaimed happily. It was Monday morning, and everyone was in the limo except for TenTen and Neji, who, not surprisingly, had arranged for another means of transportation to get to school this morning. Yesterday, TenTen had acted perfectly normal, except for going stiff and ridged whenever a certain boy was mentioned. The guys said that Neji had been acting perfectly normal as well, although he had avoided conversations about the date that had been on Saturday.

Akane had called Hinata after she got back to school, and said that Neji had left her be, although he didn't look too happy with her. She'd gone back to school late last night, but she had told Hinata that she and Lee had been talking on the phone her whole trip back, and her cell phone had nearly died. She was ecstatic and was hoping he'd ask her to be his girlfriend soon.

Sakura and Ino had been planning away, and had added minor parts for the guys into it. If everything went as they planned, which hopefully it would, then things would turn out all right.

"So do you guys understand your part in this?" Ino asked them, looking at the guys carefully. If they screwed up, the plan screwed up, and she and Sakura didn't want that happening to the plan again.

"Hn. We have to get Neji to the science classroom during lunch." Sasuke said in his usual monotone voice. There was no way they could screw that up, well, no way that he and Shikamaru could screw it up. Naruto was another story.

"Ok. Just do that, and we'll do the rest. We'll leave how you get him there up to you guys." Sakura said. Hinata was just silently observing everything. Her job was to talk to Neji before first period started. She knew her part was probably the most important, although she had no idea how to talk to him about TenTen. She knew, however, that she was the only one who would be able to talk to him.

"Ok." Hinata said, stepping out of the limo, which was now parked in front of the school entrance, waiting for the teenagers to unload before the driver could go back to their respective job at the house. "I'll see you guys later." She walked towards the school's entrance, looking for her cousin. When she didn't see him by the steps, she walked into the school and made her way towards his locker. As she turned the corner in the hall, she saw him standing near his locker, just staring into it.

She approached him slowly, and when she was near enough to be heard, said softly, "Neji, may I speak with you?"

"Hn." Neji replied turning to look at his cousin. "What is it, Hinata?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about…"Hinata trailed off, looking at her cousin's hardened eyes. He knew exactly where this was going. "Look, I just wanted to tell you that…well, TenTen didn't plan Saturday like that. Ino and Sakura did. They used it as an excuse to get Lee and Akane together, as well as you and TenTen. Killing two birds with one stone is how they phrased it, I think. So please, don't be angry at TenTen. She really did want to be with you on Saturday, and I know that she likes you a lot."

"Hn. All right then." Neji replied. "Is that all that you had to talk to me about?"

"Y-yes." Hinata replied. At least she had told him what he needed to be told.

"Then I'll be on my way to homeroom." Neji said, walking past her.

Hinata sighed lightly as her cousin brushed past her. If he actually listened to what she had said, it would make Sakura and Ino's plan go so much easier.

**Lunch Time**

"Oh, TenTen, I left my notebook in Kakashi-sensei's room!" Sakura exclaimed, looking panic stricken. "Will you come with me to get it?"

"Sure, Sakura." TenTen said to her friend. "We'll be right back, guys." She said to Ino and Hinata who were sitting at the table. They nodded their heads to show that they'd still be there when their friends returned.

"So, TenTen, have you spoken to Neji today?" Sakura asked her friend as they walked towards Kakashi's class room.

"No." TenTen said. Sakura could tell that her friend's guard had risen. This was going to be difficult.

"Oh." Sakura replied.

"Ya." TenTen said. They walked the rest of the way to the classroom in an uncomfortable silence. When they got to the class room door, they saw Sasuke standing near it with Neji. TenTen froze, but Sakura grabbed her friend by the arm, and tugged her over there. She gave Sasuke a nod, and he pushed the Hyuga into the classroom, and Sakura did the same with TenTen. Sakura then produced the key she had borrowed from Kakashi, who she had somehow gotten in on this, and locked the door from the outside.

She smiled and waved at Neji and TenTen, who in returned scowled at her, and she mouthed through the glass that she'd be back in twenty minutes. She then grabbed Sasuke's hand and they went back to the lunch room.

TenTen turned towards Neji and just looked at him, he did the same. They stayed like that for about ten minutes before TenTen finally sighed.

"Neji, I'm really sorry about Saturday." She said, turning to look out the window as she spoke. "But I didn't plan it."

"I know." Neji replied. TenTen turned to look at him with wide eyes that seemed to question this statement. "Hinata came and spoke to me this morning. She said it was another of Ino and Sakura's schemes to get some couples together."

"Um, basically, ya." TenTen said. "But why didn't you try talking to me before now?"

"I didn't know how to approach you about it." Neji replied. "I know that my behavior was a bit out of order."

"Ya, but I can see why you did that." TenTen replied. "Ino and Sakura get these crazy ideas, and they always get everyone involved in them."

"I believe Hinata used the expression 'killing two birds with one stone' for this particular scheme of theirs." Neji said.

"She probably did. Ino and Sakura probably even said that while they were planning everything out." TenTen said.

"So, um, TenTen?" Neji asked her.

"Ya?"

"Are we ok now?"

"Ya." She replied, smiling at him. With that, Neji leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips before pulling away. TenTen blushed slightly as she smiled at him.

"Awww!"

TenTen and Neji both turned to look at the door, seeing Sakura and Ino standing there, their faces practically shoved up against the glass window. Neji glared at them, and TenTen just blushed again, her friend's having watched her kiss her boyfriend for the first time. They watched as Sakura stuck the key in the lock, and jiggle it around until the door swung open.

"I'm guessing you guys are good now?" Ino asked, following her friend into the room.

"Ya, we are." TenTen said.

Sakura turned to Ino and gave her a high five. "Mission accomplished!"

"About that…" TenTen said with a smile as she and Neji walked past her two friends hand in hand. "Be in mind for some serious payback later, girls."

Ino and Sakura just looked at each other and grinned. "Bring it on TenTen." Their mission was complete, and they were happy with that. They followed their friends back to the cafeteria to eat their lunch with everyone else.

A/N: Ok, so sorry for the late update! I've been really busy with school and homework lately, and haven't had much time to work on this chapter. In other news, I believe Konoha High: The Homecoming is at its end. I really have no more ideas for this story, so that's all of it. However, there will be another part in my Konoha High series. In the next part, things will fall together more with certain couples, and new characters will be brought into the story, and of course, there will be drama! I got the idea over Christmas break, and ironically enough, the story will be called Konoha High: Christmas Break. I've started the first chapter, and hopefully I'll post it up soon. I'd like to thank everyone for following this story, and I hope you guys check out the Christmas Break one! Reviews are much appreciated!!


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